Piracy, Marriage, and Then Heroics
by Ana the Romantic
Summary: Kat and Jack are back after a year of sailing the sea. Norrington tracks down Jack, there is a big problem at Port Royal and Jack's connected. Sequel to 'Piracy, Lust and then Love' On Hiatus.
1. New beginnings on the Sea

**A/N**: Hey you guys!  Started earlier than expected!  ^.~ hope you guys like this one.  I'm just going to write it as I go, so it is going to be a bit shorter than my first one.  And if you haven't noticed, this the sequel to 'Piracy, Lust and Then Love.'  Make sure you read that one first.  I hope you guys enjoy this.  I kind of popped it straight from my head, so sorry if it isn't as impressive as my first.   Love you all… who review.  ^-^ Well, here it is…finally… On with the fic!  And Sorry about the title.  I need a new one…

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Pirate of the Caribbean.  Disney does.  I own Kat, her family and friends, and of course the plots of the first and second fics that I have written.

Piracy, Marriage, and Then Heroics

Chapter One:  New Beginnings On the Sea

Captain Jack Sparrow ducked as the cutlass belonging to his foe swooshed over his head, hitting a pile of hay instead.  He smirked to himself watching the woman struggle to get her cutlass from the hay bale.  While she had trouble retracting the cutlass from the difficult bale, Jack took time to look over her from top to bottom.

Her black hair was cut right below her shoulders, swinging back forth with her efforts, although it was kept out of the way of her eyes with a bandana tied securely around her head.  Her body was slim, but not as stringy as other women can be.  She stood about an inch underneath his eyes, making it a better advantage for him during the duel.  He watched as she finally got the cutlass from the hay.  She squinted her eyes a bit to focus on Jack and set her cutlass in her right hand, sizing him up from the look of it.  She looked him up and down, her brown, chocolate eyes searching his body for any weak points.  She bit her lower lip when she reached his lips.

"Jus' understand," Jack said disrupting her thoughts and plunging her back into reality, "Ye can't beat me, luv.  I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"I'm always up for a challenge," the woman put up her cutlass as a challenge and lunging back as if getting into a dueling position, "Even if the odds are against me, _Captain."_

He smirked, circling around her, watching her movements.  He then went over to the hay bale that she had trouble with and took off his huge jacket.  He placed the heavy article of clothing and his prized hat on the bale and redrew his cutlass.  He took his own stance after letting a low sigh escape his lips.

"Ye know, the stakes have risen, don' ye?" he asked quirking one eyebrow, partly covered by his red bandana still wound around his head and hair.

"Higher stakes only makes it more interesting," the woman replied stepping forward, making her cutlass clash with Jack's.  A smirk grew on her determined face as Jack stares at her from behind the shield of his own cutlass, "Don't you think so, Jack?"

"Aye," he quickly leaned between the two cutlasses and kissed her swiftly on the lips.  He jumped back with his cutlass still in front of him, enticing the woman to continue, "Tha's one fer me, Kat."

Kat watched as Jack's smile played on his face.  She lunged forward again, causing the two of them to create the music of a sword duel.  Metal clashed metal; bodies lunged and dodged while still trying to make their own score.

Jack stopped for a second, a little out of breath, "Well, ye know wha' yer doin', I'll give ye tha'."

"I did learn from the best," Kat rushed over, gave him her own kiss and pulled away a little, "And that's one for me."

"Tha' ain't fair," Jack said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap, causing them both to drop their cutlasses to the ground, "I was unprepared.  Ye cheated."

Kat let a light giggle escape her lips.  She looked into Jack's eyes and traced his lips with her left index finger, "Pirate."

"Aye, so ye stole a kiss."

"I didn't exactly steal it," Kat said looking at the inner walls of the small stable Jack had found at one of the many ports, "It is all part of the game."

"It is, ain't it?" Jack whispered, placing another kiss a little harder onto her lips.

They both stumbled a little bit getting into a standing position, kicking their cutlasses out of the way and fell into a pile of unused, yet untidy bit of hay.  Jack released the kiss and looked down at her.  Kat's hair spread out among the golden pieces beneath them.  Her eyes sparkled and looked up at him.  She brought her hand up to play with his beads that were in his hair.  He was content to stay, supported on his elbows, while he watched her smile and giggle.

"Jack?" Kat asked after a few seconds.

"Aye, luv?"

"What do you think of children?" Kat asked in a slight, dream like state.

"I like 'em all righ'," Jack said thinking a little, "I mean they yell, they play… some bite-" Jack added with a grimace, probably remembering a past time when a young child bit him on the arm.

"No," Kat said, covering his mouth with her hand, "I mean children of our own."

"Oh," Jack finally got the message and looked at her before giving her another kiss, "I think with yer brains and me looks, we'll end up with 'avin' fine kids."

"But have you though about it much?"

"Not tha' much, why?" Jack looked down quizzically, "Ye aren't with child, are ye?"

"No!  No," Kat said hastily, "Just my curious mind is all-"

Suddenly the stable doors flew open with at least three naval gentlemen standing at the entrance.  Jack stood up quickly in front of Kat, with his hand on his pistol, since his cutlass was a few feet away.  Kat stood quickly to her feet, right behind Jack, looking at each of the men.  The two on the side seemed a bit young, but the one in the middle seemed older, and much more experienced.

"Ah, Sparrow.  I heard that you would be here," the one that had to be the commanding officer said as he walked into better light.

Kat held on to Jack's arm with fear.  They were after him.  They have been searching for him.  She was lucky once, but she wasn't so sure she could save him a second time from a firing squad or a hangman's noose.  She could feel Jack's arm muscles relax underneath her fingertips.

"Norrington," Jack said amusingly with a slight chuckle in his voice, "I should 'ave known tha' ye would jump at the opportunity to capture me.  But I 'ave to ask under wha' charges."

"No charges, unfortunately, this time Sparrow," the man, Norrington, seemed to struggle with in himself, "I'm sorry to say… that I need your assistance."

"Well this be a luvly change of events," Jack said clapping his hands together and smiling down at Kat before continuing, "Wha' ye need me help fer?"

"It's Port Royal… it has been attacked."

"What?" Kat's back straightened and she looked at Norrington straight in the eyes, "What do you mean it was attacked?"

Norrington looked at her, wondering how one of the pirate's women knew of Port Royal.  Then he looked at her closer, watching her straight back and 'civilized' demeanor and body language.  He gave a quick look to Jack and then back at the woman.  Her face held both fear and determination.

"And you are?" he questioned, "You seem familiar."

"Never mind my name," Kat said harshly stepping in front of him, "What happened in Port Royal?"

Norrington heard the quiver in her voice which could only mean emotional attachment, "A ship that we have been tracing sailed into Port, nearly destroying it… and its population."

Jack put a hand on Kat's shoulder when he saw her head drop, "How many people died?"

"There were thirty-eight survivors in all," Norrington looked down and dropped his head, "Many perished… and even though many of the men fought, a numerous amount of women and children were slain without a second thought or moment of hesitation."

Kat started to breathe harshly, 'What about Harriet, Olivia and Robert?  Are they of the thirty-eight that made it through?'

"Perhaps we should discuss this in a more private setting?" Norrington offered.

"I know 'o the perfect place," Jack spoke up with a slight grin on his face, "The Drinkin' Lady."

Kat whipped what was apparent to be the start of tears and looked at Jack sternly, "Jack, love, that's the tavern we were at last night."

"Aye, did ye see the crowd?" he winked down at her with a bigger smile.

"Well, how do you expect anything to be private then?" Norrington asked agitated, then turned to excuse the other two men back to the naval ship.

"Because the noise is so loud, some conversations cover others.  No one is interested in what the group next to them is discussing," Kat said matter-of-factly.

"And with tha' there will be rum," Jack patted Norrington on the shoulder.

"I told you I needed your help, not to give you permission to touch me, pirate," Norrington brushed off his shoulder and possibly some dust left behind by Jack, "You have to be the worst pirate I have ever heard of."

Jack held up two fingers, side-by-side, "But ye 'ave heard of me, and ye came to find me.  Now… off to the rum!"

Jack picked up his cutlass, put it in his belt, put his jacket and hat back on and headed for the door.  Kat followed him, picking up her own cutlass and walked toward the door.  Before she reached he doorframe, Norrington stopped her by the arm.

"This is no concern of a prostitute," he said irritably.

Kat's eyes widened with anger, "I am no prostitute, _sir_!  Wherever Jack goes, I go.  And I would much appreciate it if you don't refer to Jack as 'pirate', savvy?"  She tore her arm from his grip and walked up to Jack, "I don't like this Norrington, Jack.  What if all this is a clever trick to capture you?"

"It ain't," Jack said simply looking left and for his lost tavern.

"How are you so sure?"

"The way he acts," Jack looked down at her, "He is worried.  Ye got to understand, luv.  He was once I luv with Elizabeth.  I'm guessin' as soon as she married dear William, Norrington left his post at Port Royal," he looked to the right, "We need to go this way.  'Ey, Norrington!  Don' lag behind!"

Kat stood back, falling a little behind Jack and letting Norrington catch up with her.  She looked at his face as she fell into step with him and watched his movements.  He looked to his side and gave her a quizzical look.

"How do you know Jack?" Kat asked, looking forward to find Jack swaying between two different paths to take, "You don't seem to be the type to be one of Jack's friends."

"We're acquaintances," he said swiftly, putting his hands behind his back and keeping his head up.

"Ah," Kat said in a knowing tone, "Which translates that you did not want to know him, but had no choice in the matter."

Norrington was surprised at the woman, "What are you doing with a pi-"

He stopped abruptly when she gave him a glare for using the word pirate, "Um, with Sparrow… you seem to be of some what high stature."

"And yet you called me a prostitute," she added with a scowl, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"I am sorry," he lowered his head again, "Usually a woman with a pirate means that she is one."

"Hm," Kat nodded her head lightly in understanding.

"What are you in relation to Sparrow anyhow? You are of high stature, are you not?"

"True, I was born to a wealthy family, but I chose to live this life…with him," she nodded her head toward Jack who was leading the way.

"So you are his lover," Norrington said as if he understood.

Kat laughed a little under her breath, "Let me put it this way for you… My name is Kat Sparrow."

Norrington stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her, and then at Jack still walking ahead of them, "He married?"

"Yes he did," Kat said pulling Norrington's arm, "And you promised my husband some rum.  I think it is for the best you fulfill your promise."

"You seem familiar," he said off hand.

"A lot of people say that about me," Kat said back, "And you said that before."

"But I never said that I would buy the rum," he said determined.

"Oh yes you did.  You just don't know it yet," Kat smiled knowing perfectly well that Jack will find a way to get Norrington to pay the bill.

Kat and Norrington caught up with jack and found the tavern not that much later.  Jack chose a table in the back and ordered a few rums.  Most of the men in the tavern were pirates, and Norrington knew it.  Although it seemed as though most of them were too drunk or oblivious to care that there was a naval officer in their tavern with them.

"Jack I need to talk with Lilly," Kat nodded to the bar maid behind the counter, "We have a few matters to discuss."

"All right, luv," he gave her a kiss on the cheek before she went, "Jus' be careful."

"I will," she smiled and walked toward the counter, greeting Lilly with a smile.

Norrington watched her as she walked off, "She is a strange woman."

"Aye, tha' she is," Jack replied just now taking his eyes from her and looked down at his hands, more specifically at a ring on his left hand, "Sometimes I can't believe she be me wife."

"So it is true," Norrington said looking at him unbelievingly, "You did marry her!"

"Aye, jus' comin' up to a year in a month-" Jack's eyes immediately shot open, "Bloody 'ell!  I 'ave to get an anniversary gift!"

"Sparrow!  We have bigger problems than a forgotten gift," Norrington hissed at him, "The Harbinger will not release the survivors until we bring them you."

"The Harbinger?" Jack's attention was regained by the man's statement, "You failed to mention them, mate.  Why do they want me?"

"You killed their captain apparently," Norrington leaned back in his chair, having a light carefree tone in his voice, "Now they have a new one.  And their out for blood…more specifically yours."

"They won't let anyone leave Port Royal, will they?"

"Correct," Norrington looked strangely at a woman who was bringing a few drinks to the table.  She stopped briefly and gave him a wink.

"Thank ye," Jack nodded at the woman who brought the tankards of rum, "And ye wan' me to give up to them and save the Port, is tha' it?"

"That would be ideal," Norrington snorted, "But now that you have a wife… I don't want to make anyone a widow."

"So, now we 'ave to get a new plan, then," Jack put the tankard to his lips, "I'll help ye."

"Thank you," Norrington said with force.  The woman smiled and walked back to the counter.

"I'm doin' this fer Will and Liz, not ye," Jack said looking over his shoulder, "Keep tha' in mind."

"No problem there, pirate," he said, "We are set to leave at dawn."

"Before you go, Norrington," Jack started, "Why do I get the feelin', ye ain't tellin' me somethin'?"

Norrington looked away from Jack, "It's your imagination."

"Call me crazy, but I don't 'ave tha' big of one," Jack said leaning forward.

Norrington shifted in his chair, but managed to look Jack in the eyes, "I am telling you all I know."

"What about the warrant for me arrest in Port Royal?" Jack tested, trying to see if he indeed was trying to get a way to capture him.

"Your name was cleared a few months prior to the attack by one, Mrs. Harriet Blener.  I can do nothing about it, even if I wanted to," Norrington stood up from his chair and tossed a few shillings on the table, "Get your crew together.  This should cover the rum."

Jack shrugged his shoulders and watched the naval commander walk out of the tavern and toward his ship.  Jack left the shillings on the table as he caught up with Kat by the counter.  He smiled as he saw Kat standing over a man that was on the floor.

"You see this ring?" she pointed to her left ring finger furiously, "It means that I am taken and that no means NO!"

She kicked the man in the side, put some of her hair back under her bandana and walked back over to the side of the counter, "Thanks Lilly.  Sorry for that.  Men, you know."

"Aye, men jus' can't let ye go, can they?" Jack asked amused by her outburst on a man more than twice her size.

She smiled and walked over to him.  He placed an arm around her waist and they both walked from the tavern.

"So what's the verdict?" Kat asked, looking up at him.

"We 'ead fer Port Royal tomorrow," Jack quickened their pace to the Black Pearl, "Apparently the Harbinger's crew still be upset with me."

"The Harbinger?  What does that ship have to do with anything?" Kat asked remembering well the last time they crossed paths.

"They tracked me after I saved ye, and somehow connected me to Port Royal," Jack sighed, "They be killin' innocents.  Tha' ain't righ'."

"There is something else, isn't there?" Kat asked concerned.

"There be somethin' tha' Norrington ain't tellin' me," Jack said and led Kat onto the Pearl, "We'll figure it out, luv."

"I'm worried, Jack.  What if Will, Liz…Harriet, Olivia…. What if they-"

"They know better, luv.  Don' worry," he hugged her from behind and set to work in rounding up the crew that was on board.

'Hang in there, Harriet.  I'm coming,' Kat sighed, thought for a moment and then chased after Jack, "What about the warrant for your arrest?"

"It was cleared."

"By whom?"

"Accordin' to Norrington, it was yer cousin Harriet tha' cleared me name."

"I always knew I could count on her."

"Wha' does tha' mean?" Jack asked turning from Mr. Henders who was trying to balance one of the small boats.

"She promised me that she would clear you," Kat smiled, leaning on the railing at the side of the ship.

"Even so luv," Jack started looking over the railing at the rest of the crew coming back to the ship, "I doubt tha' a town tha' was attacked would be so concerned with a pirate tha' disappeared 'bout a year ago."

"True," Kat said looking over the dark waters, "Why does he trust you to sail to Port Royal instead of the other way?"

"He don'," Jack simply stated, "But if I don't follow, he'll capture me, force me to help him, and then kill me.  So either way he wins.  But I won' abandon Will and Liz like tha'.  I owe them too much."

"Neither will I," Kat looked over her shoulder at the crew coming up the rope ladder, "Well, here comes the crew."

"Let's get ready to set sail to Port Royal," Jack turned from the railing and started toward the helm with Kat not too far behind.

A/N: So tell me whatcha' think ...please.  I will love you eternally.  Believe me more plot turns are coming!


	2. Now Tell Me, Who Be the Captain?

A/N: Hey everyone.  Fast enough update for you all?  Thanks for all the reviews.  I love all of you unconditionally.  Well, as far as reader-writer relationship could go.  Anyway, here is chapter two.  Hope you like it.  YO HO!

Chapter 2: Now Tell Me, Who Be The Captain?

Kat sat in the Captain Quarters on the side of the bed and looked around the huge room.  She looked over at her husband who was also looking around the large room, although he had a huge bottle of what looked like his favorite rum gripped tightly in his hand.  Every so often he would put the bottle up to his lips and take a swig or two to find another train of thought.  Kat sighed and curled up next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"So, have you thought of another plan?  Or are we still dead in the water?" Kat asked rubbing Jack's chest through his shirt.  It had been a few days since they had set sail for Port Royal and Jack let Gibbs and Anamaria take the helm for him.  He was usually locked in the captain's cabin, trying to formulate a plan and find out why there were pirates still standing.

"Dead in the water, luv," Jack sighed and put the bottle of rum on the side table next to the huge bed, "I don' understand somethin'.  There should be nothin' left of the Harbinger.  Or of her crew."

Kat looked up at Jack with a confused look, "What are you talking about, Jack?  If they ambushed the Port, than not many people could have prepared for it."

"Tha's not wha' I'm talkin' about," Jack kept his gaze locked up at the ceiling above their heads and started to wave his hands in his usual flamboyant fashion to express his thoughts, "Norrington is a very hard man to defeat.  Believe me… I know.  Especially if he had a ship like the Dauntless, or near anythin' close to her.  Knowin' Norrington, the Harbinger and her crew should 'ave been takin' care of long before now."

"What are you saying?  They are invincible?" Kat asked with a little giggle.

"No, every ship and crew has its weak point," Jack said letting a smile come over his face and looking down at Kat, "I jus' don' like the feelin' tha' Norrington is hidin' somethin' from me.  Especially when I told him I would help him."

"Well, I don't like the idea of following the big blow heart into danger at all," Kat said with a slight grumble to her voice, "Stupid blighter probably doesn't even know what he is doing."

"Well, well, luv.  It seems tha' becomin' a pirate has changed yer perception on a lot 'o things," Jack said letting the grin crawl even further across his face, "I remember when ye would be sayin' the same thin's about me."

"Yeah, well, I think that a lot of events have changed those perceptions from then to now," she let her own smile grow on her face and leaned over Jack to give him a kiss, "Like you saving me all those times, loving me and marrying me.  I think that those events were very special."

"And jus' how special are we talkin'?" Jack quirked an eyebrow and looked into Kat's eyes.

Kat gave a smirk and started to kiss Jack again, letting his arms press against her back and her hands fumble through his hair.  For once she didn't have to worry about his prized hat being in the way since it was hanging on one of the bedposts to the side of them.  She smiled against his lips and pulled away slightly.

"Now, we need to get back on trying to help Port Royal," she slipped from his grasp and walked over to the maps that covered his desk.

Jack looked at her with his mouth open and gaped at her actions, "Now ye 'ave to admit tha' was jus' a bit unfair, don' ye think?"

"What?" Kat asked innocently, batting her eyelashes for an effect.  Before Jack could answer she turned back around and began to look for a specific map.

"Ye know wha'… ye… ye…" Jack let out a breath of frustration and rolled his eyes unable to find words to combat his wife with, "Ye are goin' to get it one of these days, luv."

"Mhum," Kat was looking at the maps again and didn't really listen nor pay attention to his last statement.

"I'm goin' to check on the crew," Jack mumbled and stepped out of the cabin, "I can't believe tha' woman.  I mean, who is wearin' the boots in the relationship?"

Jack turned the corner and found Gibbs and Charlie, a new, young addition to the crew, playing a game of cards on top of a wooden crate.  Usually Jack wouldn't let many young men join on the Pearl, but the boy had sailing experience and was very handy to have around.  Anamaria walked down from the helm to fetch Gibbs and looked over the game that was being played.  She looked up to see Jack and let a smirk grow on her face when she saw the scowl begin to grow on his.  Jack stepped up to the two men and cleared his throat before the two men finally noticed that he was even there.

"Hey there Cap'n," Charlie said pleasantly with a smile, "How far off be Port Royal, now?"

"I wouldn't know," Jack said in a scruffy voice leaning over toward Gibbs, "I left Gibbs in charge of the coordinates after I retired to me cabin."

"Aye, ye did," Gibbs made another move, pretty much making it an inescapable position for Charlie, "An' from wha' I saw Anamaria was doin' a fine job 'o sailin'."

"Don' ye bring me into this, Gibbs," Anamaria warned from the wall she was leaning on.

"Maybe she was doin' a fine job, but I put ye in charge," Jack reminded him.

"Aye, aye Jack," Gibbs waved his hand, ready to look for Charlie's next move and flip of his hand.

Before Jack could say another word Kat came up from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Jack, are you sure that these maps are recent?"

"I'm pretty sure," Jack took a hold of the one she was holding out and turned it left and right for a better overview of the whole paper.  Kat watched him, then let her eyes wonder to the two crewmembers that were sitting and playing cards, while the other female pirate leaned against the wall.  She cleared her throat once and the two men looked up at her.

"Charlie, aren't you suppose to be up on the main deck helping Mr. Riggins with the sails?" she narrowed her eyes at the young man and shifted her eyes to signal him toward the stairs to the deck.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded his head furiously and started to run up the stairs and out to the sails.

Kat looked over at Gibbs who had just got up to head toward his own duties before Kat could catch on.  But it was already too late for him.

"Mr. Gibbs," Kat called out his name and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, "I thought your captain told you to steer this ship toward Port Royal.  What are happening to do down here?  A leak came to your attention?"

Gibbs rubbed his arm with a little bit of apprehensiveness and shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Aye I was Miss-"

"Ahem!" Kat cleared her throat again, gaining the full attention of Jack and a small chuckle from Anamaria.

"Mrs. Captain Sparrow," Gibbs said hastily to cover his mistake.

"Thank you," Kat smiled and tilted her head.  She looked over at Anamaria, "So where were you heading."

"To grab Gibbs back to the helm," Anamaria said with a smirk, pushing herself off the wall, "And then I was heading down to the brig to do some tidying up."

"Good," Kat nodded her head again and went back over to Jack, "I probably am just reading the maps wrong.  I'll figure it out."

She kissed a stunned Jack on the cheek and began to walk back up toward the captain's cabin.  After she was around the corner Jack shook his head and looked at the two remaining crewmembers that were left.  He put his forehead in his hand and started to think about what had just happened.

"Now tell me," Jack started looking at Gibbs and Anamaria, "Who be the Captain on this ship?"

"Well, she is… she did… uh…she'll…ye know…" Gibbs struggled for words; pointing toward the direction Kat went and then back the opposite way, trying to get his tongue back in working order.

Anamaria chuckled and walked by Jack, "I would ask the little misses."

Jack nodded, watched Gibbs go back up to the helm and walked back to the captain's cabin.  He found Kat over by the desk sorting out some of the papers and maps.  She scratched the top of her head trying to make heads or tails of the information and didn't hear Jack until he closed the heavy doors behind him.

"Luv?" he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yes?" Kat asked, still looking over the papers that were everywhere.

"Who be the captain on the Pearl?" he asked putting his head on her shoulder.

She put a confused look on her face and turned around to face Jack, "Well of course you are, Captain Jack Sparrow."

He smiled, kissed her forehead and then turned serious again, "Then wha' was all tha' about on deck?"

"Well, you gave some orders and I didn't see them being fulfilled," Kat explained, "People should always obey the captain."

She put her index finger on the tip of nose and smiled.  He gained his smiled back and put his forehead to hers.

"So I will always be the captain?"

"Of course," Kat said exasperated and stepped away from him, "Until you die and I take over, at least."

"Is tha' a threat?" Jack acted surprised and hurt.

"Very funny, Jack," Kat giggled and handed him a paper that she found in a pile, "What is this?"

"Wha?" he unfolded the paper and stared at the familiar handwriting that was so familiar to him, "Ye know who wrote this to me?"

Jack sat down in his chair next to the desk and let out a heavy breath, "This was from Catterine."

"Catterine?" Kat asked surprised, "Why would he write to you?  Or why _did_ he write you?"

"I never told ye," Jack looked down at the floor, until Kat sat down next to him on the floor and looked up at him, "Catterine used to be me friend."

"Friend?" Kat asked incredulously, "He wanted to kill you the last time you two met."

"Well, we weren't always tha' prone to figh', luv," Jack looked at her and then back the note, "We used to be a lot closer than tha'."

"How close?" Kat asked not quite understanding just how two completely different men became friends and then enemies.

"Let's not search too much into it, eh?" Jack put the note on the table and grabbed Kat up from the floor, "All I 'ave to say is tha' I was never a eunuch and I never will be one."

"I didn't mean it that way, Jack," Kat poked him in the side.

"Well it be over, so I don' really see the point in goin' back over old memories," Jack started to walk toward the doors, "The crew said tha' they wanted me to inspect somethin' on the deck tonight."

"That doesn't sound like the crew," Kat commented as Jack opened the doors to a star sprinkled night.

The stepped out from the captain's cabin and found the deck in front of them completely dark.  Kat looked around left and right, a little unsure about the situation.  There was barely any time that the crew wasn't on deck, for the exceptions of Jack and her waking up early to enjoy the sunrise together.

Before either of them had time to react some of the crew members jumped up with candles in their hands, "Surprise cap'n!"

Kat shouted and fell back into Jack, quite startled by the two men jumping out in front of her, "What the bloody hell?"

"Surprise, Kat," Anamaria helped Jack pull her up to a standing position as the rest of the crew began to emerge with now lit candles.  Everywhere Kat and Jack looked there was food and –much to Jack's liking- rum covering every table.  The lighting was perfect and Kat was so overwhelmed that she couldn't speak.  Jack on the other hand couldn't wait to break into some of the rum with the rest of the crewmembers.  Gibbs was already at the rum table ready for the captain to take his own picking so he could start as well.

"I suggest the Irish rum," Gibbs commented as Jack came forward, looking over his choices.

Anamaria still had hold on Kat and waited for her to open her mouth and say something, "Well, spit it out Kat!"

"Why?" was the only question or comment Kat uttered from her mouth.

"Fer yer anniversary.  It is comin' up in a few days now, isn't it?" Anamaria patted her on the back, "And ye know how the crew loves the chance to celebrate anythin'.  Especially if it has to include rum and gracious amounts of food."

"Ana," Kat started trying to keep back the laughter that was on the tip of her tongue, "Our anniversary isn't for another month."

Anamaria's smile dropped, "Jus' stay righ' there fer a minute."

Kat nodded and watched Anamaria walk over to some of the other men at the side of the rum table and hit one of them upside the head.  Kat squinted her eyes and laughed lightly at the sight.

"Ye had the wrong month, ye idiot!" Anamaria yelled in his ear, making sure he understood her frustration.  She shook her head and rolled her eyes, then made her way back over to Kat, "Stupid blighter."

"Don't worry about it, Ana.  It is absolutely wonderful," Kat smiled and looked at the candles and decorations that the crew had managed to scrounged up from the past loots and plunders.

Jack soon came over, a little drunk than usual- wait, that doesn't sound like Jack.  He's always permanently drunk.  Anyway, he sauntered over to Kat and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Here's to one year down!" he drank more of the rum in his hand and then walked toward another drunk crewman, "Ye lookin' at me wife?"

"Looks like yer goin' to 'ave yer hands full tonight," Anamaria nodded her head toward Jack.

"What? You mean him?" Kat pointed at Jack feigning surprise, "Oh no, he will be fine.  I'm more worried about you and all of those men that are going to be drunk around you.  I mean, no doubt you can handle yourself, but goodness, just to think about it gives me a headache."

Anamaria's laughter stopped short and she squinted her eyes angrily at Kat. Kat shrugged her shoulders and walked off to find Jack and to make sure he didn't fall overboard.

"Aye, a long night indeed," Anamaria sighed and hit one of the men coming up behind her.

***

Meanwhile on board the grand ship, the 'Golden Eagle', Norrington and his men try to piece together what had happened in their previous encounter with the Harbinger's crew.  Unknown to the soldiers, Norrington also had another mystery on his mind.  The true identity of Kat Sparrow and who she was before she became intimate with the dreadful pirate captain Jack Sparrow.

Norrington sat in his esteemed quarters sipping on some wine while looking over papers of kidnapped and otherwise 'thought for dead' women from the area around Port Royal.  The quarters were just as big as that of Jack's, although the colors were more of gold, whites and dark blues, than the blacks and Burgundies that Jack usually required in his room.  He had his small bed in the corner of the room, while his desk was set against the wall, letting him look out one of his windows to see the dark ocean waters and stars.  He sighed once again, picking up the papers of the missing women and began to search for his answer.

He had three possibilities, one very unlikely and two even more so.  One woman didn't even look or sound like the woman he met just the day before and was soon forgotten among the other papers and collections upon his floor.  The other two women were presumed or proclaimed dead.  One was named Charlotte Frendies who had lived just down from the docks in Port Royal.  Once night her home was vandalized by pirates and was taken.  Many believed that it was her body that washed up on the shore the next morning.

Then there was a young Katerina Benikins.  Norrington knew of her well.  Her father was very interested in Norrington to become another one of her suitors.  He had a lot of competition, and at the time, he only had one woman in mind… Elizabeth.  So, he had to decline Mr. Benikin's offer.  He later remembered hearing that she was kidnapped by pirates and soon after joined them.  Harbinger's crew, from what is said in the records, soon killed her later that same year.  She died in her father's arms.  Sad story really, but it could have been false.  He never knew for sure.  Either way he was determined to get to the bottom of Kat Sparrow's true identity.

Norrington put down the papers as he saw the sun's rays starting to shine in through his curtains and windows.  As he peered out he saw the Black Pearl sailing along beside them, maybe a mile off.  Then, looking toward the front end of the ship, he saw the edge of an island.  An edge of a port.  Port Royal.  There were finally there to meet their destiny.

A/N: Sorry, I will get to Port Royal and the other characters soon.  Next, chapter I promise.  Anyway, tell me what you think, I'll be happy if you do.  Um, yeah… it is eleven o' clock at night and it's finals week so I really should be getting to bed.  See you all later then.  And remember, if you review, you will get a reward… meaning next chapter soon!

^-~ Ana


	3. Home Sweet Home

Chapter Three: Home Sweet Home

            The sun had been up for a good hour or so before the two ships reached the same point before actually reaching Port Royal.  Norrington stepped out on the main deck of the Golden Eagle once again when the Black Pearl came along side his vessel.  At the helm of the pirate ship he could see the pirate captain, Jack Sparrow, and his wife Kat waiting for the two ships to align.  He waited by the side railing of his ship while Jack and Kat walked down to meet him.

The ships were anchored just a little off shore and hidden from sight by a half submerged rock formation.  A boarding plank was lowered between the two ships, although neither of the men used it to board the other vessel.  Kat watched closely as the board landed on the Pearl with a loud knock on the black wood.  Her mind slipped back to the day when the Harbinger under the control of Catterine tried to take over the Pearl, but took her instead.  The three days passed slowly as she was stuck at the bottom of the Harbinger at the mercy of the captain and the crew.  Kat quickly shook her head free of the thoughts as Norrington's voice shocked her back into reality.

"Well, now that we are here, what do we do?" Norrington held his arms behind his back, trying to keep his elated position.

"Accordin' to ye, they wan' me.  I doub' tha' getting' into the port won' be so tricky.  They wanted me to come," Jack said putting his own hands behind his back, in his own way mocking Norrington's small attempt to put himself above them.

"So you suggest that we just sail straight into port as usual?" Norrington asked with an eyebrow cocked.

"Do ye notice wha' time it be?" Jack looked up at the sky where there were still some pink and purples were still lingering in the sky.

"It's just past sunrise," Norrington said annoyed.

"Exactly," Jack looked at the port, "Even when me- or should I saw Barbossa's- crew were sailing, they wouldn't wake up until midday.  I'm havin' the thought tha' the Harbinger's crew not be too far off of me old crew's habits."

"You have no idea," Norrington murmured.

Jack didn't notice his last comment and shouted orders to sail toward the port and prepare to dock.  The crew that had just recently emerged from the crew quarters below began stumbling toward the stations and began working with the sails and other instruments around the ship.  Norrington turned and began to do the same with his already awake crew, trying to make his voice cover over the pirate captain's.  Jack glanced back at him over his shoulder, amused that he would try to make such a little thing into a grave competition.  Although. Jack was always up for a competition.  He began barking his orders a bit louder, trying to make as much commotion as possible.

The boarding plank between the two ships was taken back onto the Golden Eagle and both ships began to make way.  Kat was a little apprehensive about the noise from the barking orders and came up to tap Jack on the shoulder.

"Jack," he didn't hear her as he began telling off one of the crew members heading up into the ropes and glancing ever so often at Norrington, "Jack!"

Jack stopped and turned around on one heel toward Kat, "Aye luv?"

"What about the sleeping pirates?" Kat nodded her head toward the port making sure he got the message, "Will they not hear your boisterous arrival, along with Norrington's?"

Jack smiled and patted her on the back, "Even if they did luv, they ain't goin' to stop us.  They wanted me to come 'ere, remember?"

"That's why I am so concerned," Kat put her hand on his arm and looked up into his eyes with worry, "I don't want to lose you again, especially if I can't find you again."

"And ye ain't goin' to lose me," Jack kissed her swiftly on the lips, "I promise ye."

Kat nodded and watched as he headed for the helm to steer the great ship into the port, hopeful not to hit any of the emerging rocks from below the waves.  She dropped her head and looked at the wooden planks below her feet.  She couldn't help but worry about him.  These pirates were blood thirsty and no matter how many innocents they have already killed, they wanted to taste Jack's blood.  And only his blood could sustain their thirst.  She walked over to the railing toward the front of the Pearl and watched as the shoreline of Port Royal began to grow bigger and more detailed.

The houses that had once stood at the edge of the shore were completely demolished and resorted to rubble.  Some houses even had the remnants of the furnishings that once decorated the home.  In some piles the scene wasn't as pleasant as Kat could faintly see the outlines of dark stained bodies lying limp over the surviving kitchen tables of laying on the floor scattered with the stone pieces of their own homes.  Some walls stood, but for no purpose; as they had failed to protect the people that once felt safe and happy behind their stone shell.

The land that once held some crops and orchards that had at one time flourished were all burned.  Farmers had toiled to bring their crops to life after so many attempts before had failed.  Now all their efforts were burned to the soil, some so bad that no one could scavenge what was left of it.  The gardens that lit the plain white homes with color were all gone, either trampled or torn from the soil.  Only a few flowers still grew and hung onto life at the edge of the grand homes, barely being able to suck the nutrients essential to their life from the soil below the ground.

As they passed into the small docking portion of the port and no cannons went off or fire at the two ships Kat began to study the new graveyard around her.  Ships that ranged from merchant to the elegant British Naval ships were half sunk in the shallow waters of the port.  Kat saw her once favorite merchant ship just off the sandy shore, stripped in half by what had to be by cannons.  No doubt entered Kat's mind that there were still some innocent men on the ships as they sank into the waters with no escape readily available to them.

Back on the quickly approaching shore Kat could see stray dog and cats roaming and scavenging for any food that they could find.  With all their owners possibly dead, they had no one to provide for them and they had to slip back into their primal instincts.  Some dogs were fighting among themselves while others have grown into small packs to tackle trash receptacles and sniff through the rubble of each home.  Cats seem to leap from street to street, alone and solitaire in their effort for life.  If the animals were reduced to live like this, how were the people that survived living?

Kat shook her head as she found that she had begun to cry once again.  She wiped the tears from her eyes and cleared her throat.  She had to stay strong for the crew and for Jack.  She cannot have him worry about her when he should be focusing more on how he was going to make it through these circumstances.  She pushed away from the railing and walked straight up to the helm where Jack was focusing on sliding the Pearl into a slot near the shore, where the new Interceptor once floated.

Kat hesitantly took a step next to Jack and looked back over the destroyed port, "We have to find everyone, Jack.  We just have to."

"Don' worry, luv.  We will find them," Jack stood rigid and unmoving, except for his hands steering the ship.  Kat could tell that he too was trying to suppress feelings of sadness, and more than likely a little guilt.

***

As soon as the ships were docked and secured Norrington took most of his crew and Jack's crew toward the now crumpled naval fort that once stood strong on the edge of the port.  As Jack and Kat led their crew through the streets, trying to keep their eyes from taking in too many of the sights, they- both in their own ways- tried to comfort one another.  Jack put his arms around Kat's waist and Kat let her head lean on Jack's shoulder.  They were both worried about their family and friends; with only thirty-eight survivors, it didn't look so good for Will, Liz and Harriet along with their families.

Kat could hear the crew make comments about the raid that had taken place.  Most were amazed by the damage and knew that the Harbinger's crew wanted something, something big.  No one crew would do this much damage in a simple raid.  Most crews would only take gold, and maybe if their code didn't prohibit it, some women.  But this destruction only came from a desperate crew.  One that seemed more desperate than Barbossa's.  Anamaria and Gibbs followed Kat and Jack closely, looking for any corner that could turn into an ambush or any peak that could turn deadly.  None of the crew members, except Gibbs, really had seen the port in its prime, except for what they saw from the Pearl.  All of them stayed on the Pearl when Jack had tried to drop Kat off the last time they were here.

Norrington's men could be seen up ahead, staying in their uniform lines and ranks.  Kat smirked a little to herself thinking how easy it seemed to kill all of them with a rain of shots if they were to be attacked at that moment.  Meanwhile, the Pearl's crew where in scattered sets.  They didn't stay in any particular order, and many were jumpy with good reason.  If a port as protected as this could be reduced to this level with just one pirate ship and one crew, that crew must either be very good, or be a force not to be recon with.

Norrington made his way into the old fort and was followed by his and the Pearl's crew.  He ordered that his crew stay outside his old office and guard the surrounding perimeter for the other pirate crew or anything that seemed out of order.  Only his second in command was allowed into the conversation that would take place between him and the pirates.  Jack allowed Gibbs and Kat to come into the old office with him while the rest of his crew stayed under Anamaria's commands and rested as well as they could.  The five people entered the old office, but found that the room wasn't cramped and all of them had seating room.

"Please," Norrington gestured to the chairs that were in front of the desk and sat down in the plush chair that belonged to the late commodore.

Jack pushed a chair forward for Kat and she accepted it with a small smile.  Jack took another chair and looked at Gibbs who shook his head and waved his hand.

"I'd rather stand if it be all righ' with ye, cap'n," Gibbs looked over at Norrington's second in command who also declined to sit.  Although everyone silently agreed that he was never offered a chair in the first place.

"Suit yerself, Gibbs," Jack shrugged his shoulders and sat in the chair he was holding and leaned toward Norrington's desk and smiled, showing off his few gold teeth, "So wha' are we actually lookin' at 'ere, Norrington?"

Norrington took a deep breath and looked down at the papers stacked in front of him, "They seem to be impossible to stop."

"That isn't righ'," Jack said, "Ye know as well as I do tha' every ship and crew has their soft spot to exploit."

"They _are_ unstoppable, Sparrow," Norrington started to growl under his breath, angered that Jack didn't believe his statement.

"Unstoppable?" Kat questioned, stopping her husband from making another comment, "Can you please clarify?"

 "They cannot die," Norrington looked at Jack who started to become enthralled with his words, "Even if they are hit with a cannonball square in the chest."

Jack looks over at Gibbs who had the same expression of fear and confusion on his face.  Kat looked at the two men from the Pearl with her own confusion.  All of them had some knowledge that she was lacking.  Jack looked back at Norrington with a now beyond mad expression.

"Are ye tellin' me tha' they had discovered the Aztec gold?" Jack was standing up from his chair now, trying to express his enraged attitude.

"I believe so," Norrington said looking back down at the papers that were scattered on the desk.

"Wait a moment. Aztec gold?" Kat broke in, "Jack, you cannot be serious.  I thought you had told me that it was destroyed."

"As far as I knew it was," Jack didn't take his eyes from Norrington, "I told Norrington over there to get rid of tha' cursed treasure when we were sailin' back to me first hangin'."

"I didn't think much of it," Norrington diverted his eyes to the far wall.

"Than wha' were ye thinkin', Norrington?  Ye know how many pirates 'ave 'eard of tha' legend?"

"It seemed like complete nonsense to me," Norrington finally looked back Jack, "A cursed treasure?  Please."

"Than how do ye explain all the events tha' 'ad happened, then?" Gibbs piped up from behind Jack and Kat.

"Stories," Norrington simply answered, "Remember I was never there when they were actual 'skeletons'.  And when they were, they immediately become human again, and I killed the first of them.  I felt they were still human."

"So ye decided to totally forget 'bout it and wait 'til Port Royal was hit and its population nearly demolished to do anythin' 'bout it?" Jack asked, nearly yelling at the naval commander.

"I didn't think-"

"Yeah, I 'eard tha' excuse.  Give me another tha' actually would clear yer name," Jack kicked his chair to the side of the room and threw the door open.  Gibbs followed after him and started to inform the crew on the situation.  Kat sat in her chair for a few seconds before standing and started to walk toward the door to go after her husband.

"I did all I could with what I believed," Norrington offered as Kat neared the door.

Kat turned and faced Norrington, "Just because he is a pirate captain doesn't mean that all he says is nonsense."

"That wasn't what I believed."

"And look where it has brought you," Kat turned back toward the door, "If I had learned anything from Jack, it was to be cautious, not unbelieving.  He may be a pirate, but sometimes when I look at him and consider a mountain of things that have happened. I know that he is the most honest person I know."

"So now what do we do?"

"We do whatever we can," Kat stepped out of the office and ran after Jack.

"Which isn't much," Norrington mumbled.

"What now, sir?" his second in command asked.

"We wait.  As soon as the pirate comes back, we take him to see the survivors.  Then we wait for a plan to form.  It's all we can do," Norrington stood and walked outside to talk with his crew.

***

"Jack!" Kat caught up with Jack down the road from the fort and stood in front of him, "Jack, it isn't wise to walk about in this port with midmorning coming.  You know perfectly well that the Harbinger's crew in gathered somewhere around and that they have you marked as the ultimate prize."

"It wasn't particularly wise to leave tha' gold knowin' wha' it could do," Jack said looking away from Kat.

"I agree," Kat said hugging him, "But just because Norrington was a bloody idiot doesn't mean that you should be out by your lonesome."

Jack hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her back, "So ye be givin' me yer company?"

"Exactly," Kat smiled up at him, "You told me that story I don't know how many times.  I absolutely loved it each time, but I never could really relate it to real life.  But now. seeing all this, it is so real. so close."

"Aye," Jack looked at the buildings that were now dramatic, now distorted, "It's just tha' I told him to get rid of tha' treasure.  It would bring nothin' but death, and he didn' believe me."

"I guess we found out what he was holding back, aye?"

"Aye.Well, we should head back."

"Are you feeling up to facing Norrington with out punching him to a bloody pulp?"

"I think I can handle the urge."

"That means that I have all the shots at him then," Kat smiled again at him, trying to brighten his mood.  Jack began to chuckle a little and they both walked back toward the old naval fort.

After they had gotten back, many of Jack's crew seemed edgy, since they had experienced a cursed crew before, and weren't looking forward to facing another one.  Even under these circumstances, all of them followed Jack.  They were not going to mutiny, or abandon their captain.  They were better than that.  They had to hold to their own code, the code that held the crew of the Black Pearl.

Norrington had only a select number of his crew follow him with Jack's crew around the town to the hiding area of the survivors while the others went in a completely different direction, to keep the Harbinger's crew guessing, just in case they were watching.  On the way to the hiding place, the group walked by the Benikin's estate that looked exactly like the one Kat had grown up in.  When she saw it she stopped dead in her tracks and looked over every detail.  It was the same from the window etchings to the garden out front.

Norrington noticed this and walked back toward her, "The Benikin's estate."

"I have heard of it," Kat said softly, turning her head away from the structure, "But I had thought it was in another one of the outer lying cities.  Not in Port Royal."

"It originally was," Norrington looked at Jack who gave him a suspicious glance, "This is an identical copy in memory of Arthur Benikins and his daughter Katerina Benikins who were told to have died at the hands of the Harbinger's crew.  That is a big coincidence, don't you think?"

"Yes, very," Kat looked at him and then back at the estate where she could have sworn a smaller version of herself was playing on the steps leading up to the doors.  She could see the fine fabric on her small dress flow and ripple with her movements.  Her mother was at the top of the stairs near the entrance.  The young girl ran up to the woman's open arms and was swung around.  She could hear the giggles that came from the happy, young girl.  Kat turned away quickly and looked up at Jack.  He gave her a concerned look and she gave him a small reassuring smile.

"You know, I never understood why Mrs. Harriet Blener built this grand house for only her family.  It seemed like a waste of her new fortune from her uncle," Norrington commented.

"No, she probably saw it as a great tribute to lost family," Kat smiled to herself, "I know what it feels like to lose family.  I would want to do the same."

"I see," he said in a thoughtful tone, "Well, I should head to the front again."

Before he began to walk up to the front where his second in command was leading one of his men came toward the back and saluted him, "Sir, there is someone out in the gave yard around the back of the estate."

"Who is it?"

"It is hard to say, but it seems to be a female," the solider put his saluting hand down.

Kat's eyes grew and she began to run full force toward the graveyard.  If the estate was an exact duplicate from her old estate than she knew exactly where to go.  She rounded the corner and saw an outline of a woman hunched over in front of a tombstone.  She slowed her pace and began to walk slowly toward the shivering form.

The woman had a dark burgundy dress on, with her brown hair up in a bun, secured tightly on her head.  As Kat came closer, she realized that the woman wasn't shivering, she was crying.  The woman extended a hand to touch the stone and tried to dry her tears with her other hand.  Kat stopped abruptly as the woman raised her head to see who was disturbing her in her time of grievances.

Kat's breath seemed to stop as she saw that it was Harriet staring back at her.  Harriet seemed a little older, her eyes were swollen with tears and her frame seemed so frail.  But her eyes, even as swollen as they were, still held that bright hope that Kat remembered.  The frail Harriet pushed herself off the ground as her breath started to increase in her breast.  She steadied herself and finally got the energy to speak.

"K- Katerina."

Kat smiled as tears started to show in her eyes and slowly nodded her head, "I told you I always enjoyed a good challenge, Harriet."

Harriet coughed out a small cry of happiness and ran over to hug her long lost cousin, "God!  Thank goodness you are here.  How I've missed you."

Kat and Harriet sunk down to the ground in a hug, "Thank goodness they spared you.  I heard that there were only thirty-eight survivors.  I had thought the worst."

"Well, not everyone was as lucky, if you call this existence lucky," Harriet said dryly.

"What are you talking about?  Shouldn't you be in hiding with Olivia and Robert?"

Harriet kept her eyes away from her cousin and nodded toward the tombstone she was touching only a few moments ago.  Kat let go of her momentarily and stepped in front of the tombstone trying to prepare her self for what she saw.  As soon as she saw the name etched quickly on the stone she covered her mouth as a sob escaped her lips.

She turned toward Jack, Gibbs, Anamaria and Norrington as they ran around the house, now able to catch up with Kat.  Jack saw Harriet on the ground still sobbing a bit and then found Kat over by the tombstone.  Kat looked at him and rivers of tears made their way down her cheeks.  He went over and hugged her tightly, finally seeing the name upon the stone.

"Oh no." Jack murmured and held Kat tightly in his arms and she grabbed his arm tightly.

"Why." Kat asked choking on her tears, unable to get the name out of her mouth.

"We should head to the hiding area," Norrington said softly.

"Give them time, Norrington," Jack glared up at the naval commander, "Ye owe them tha' much."

Norrington only nodded stiffly and headed over to the collapsed form of Harriet, to help her stand.  Jack brushed Kat's hair and started to rock her in his arms.

"It's goin' to be all righ', luv.  I promise," he kissed the top of her head and as she stared blankly at the stone in front of her, with only one thought going through her mind.

'Why?'

**A/N**: Sorry, I had to leave it on a type of cliff hanger.  Whose name is on the tombstone?  Who did Kat and Harriet lose?  Check up next time for the fourth chapter.  Sorry it took so long, I had a lot of things on my plate, but I'm hoping to update the next chapter earlier than this one took.. Or I can just leave you dangling for another month.. But that would be inhumane.  Just keep checking and I will update soon.  And remember, review!

^-~Ana


	4. The Sacrificial Loss

Chapter 4: The Sacrificial Loss

            Kat picked her head up from Jack's chest and looked over at Harriet who was still on the ground despite Norrington's efforts.  Harriet's crying had settled to silent sobbing and Kat could tell that she was trying to be strong and stop her crying.  Slowly Kat began to climb out of Jack's warm embrace and half crawled over to Harriet.  The two women grabbed at each other for comfort with Harriet still trying to control her tears.

            "I'm sorry, Harriet," Kat whispered to her cousin, "Robert… was a good man.  And a wonderful father."

"Yes, he was.  But now Olivia will have to grow up without that wonderful father," Harriet said in a harsh voice, "…and without the use of one leg.  For the time being at least."

"What?" Kat held Harriet at arms length to look her in the eyes, "What happened to her?"

Harriet struggled with herself as she tried to explain the tragedy in words.  Kat gave her a reassuring hug as Jack made his way over to them.  He stood above the two women and waited for the explanation as well.  No one but Kat really understood how much little Olivia meant to him; even though he had only met her that once when Harriet brought her along to tell him of the alleyway for his escape.  Harriet looked up at Jack, thinking that she could escape her explanation for the time being.  He knelt down next her and facing toward Kat.

"Hello Jack," she said quietly, earning a smile back from him.  Before he knew what was happening, she brought her hand up and slapped Jack quickly across the face, "That's for leaving her here, when you knew perfectly well that she belonged with you!"

            Jack held his face in his hand as Kat tried to suppress a giggle, "Wha' is it with women in yer family Kat?  All 'o them wan' to slap ye when ye though' ye were doin' somethin' good for someone ye luv."

            "Well, what you did wasn't good.  You almost broke her heart!" Harriet was about to slap him again until Kat caught her arm and stopped her from inflicting any more damage.

Harriet saw her blank and worried expression and realized that she couldn't side step it any longer.  Harriet took a deep breath, looked up at Kat and Jack and began to tell them about the attack.

*~*Flashback in Harriet's POV*~*

As far as it seemed, the night was going to be still and calm, as many were in the past days.  The sea breeze had climbed up the rocks and into the small portside city, cooling the rocky roads and the civilians walking about.  No one has reported any robberies for the past week; I guess the news of the new reinstalled Commodore Norrington was the reason for that.  Ever since he was said to be coming back to Port Royal in the next week, the crime had dropped immensely.  Everything was going great, and I had many things to look forward to in the upcoming days and years.

Olivia was playing in the yard with Jessie and Emily Turner.  They were playing pirates once again, their favorite game since they could remember.  Only to think that they began to play it last year.  All three children had grown so much; Olivia was almost four years old as Jessie had just celebrated his a few months ago and little Emily had recently turned two years old.  Jessie was now about an inch over Olivia and was starting to take on most of his father's characteristics.  Emily, while trying to still be a lady, would jump into the pirate's fights, just to stir up trouble.  And my sweet Olivia was getting bigger each day.  She has begun to watch the sunset and rise each day as her Kat- my dear cousin- used to.  I guess she has more of Kat flowing through her veins than she has of me.

Just after sundown William Turner came by to pick up his children on his way home for his blacksmith shop.  Just a couple of years ago Mr. Brown passed away in his sleep and left it all to his apprentice, Will.  Will's swords have been demanded everywhere and no one could say that they were useless.  Nearly everyone uses them these days.  Olivia waved at the three Turners as they walked down the path toward their home.

Robert and I looked at each other and smiled.  I looked down and rubbed my relatively flat stomach.  I was expecting once again and in the matter of a few short months, Olivia would be an older sister.  Robert and I were ecstatic and happy.  I leaned my head on Robert's shoulder and watched the sky explode and become swallowed into night.  Olivia seemed to dance in the yard as she ran between the fence and the steps of our newly built home.  It seemed that her extreme pirate fights with Jessie and Emily hadn't tired her out.

Suddenly, Olivia stopped in the middle of her fifth lap and stared out to the bay.  She turned around and ran straight toward up at full speed.  Her wooden sword was drawn and in her left hand.

"Mommy, pirate's in the bay!" she whispered harshly to me, "They are mean.  They aren't like Uncle Jack."

I smiled at her, thinking that she had seen another merchant vessel and took it for a pirate ship; as she usually would do whenever an unfamiliar ship sailed into port.  She still idolized Jack and Kat as if they were lifted on pedestals just because they worked under a pirate flag.  She wouldn't take her bandana off her head unless I threatened to take away her dessert at dinner. She would never forget Jack's promise to her.  She was absolutely convinced that he would come back with Kat one day.  Especially since his name was now cleared in Port Royal.

As soon as she stopped her hurried whispering I heard far off sounds.  Sounds I hadn't heard in a very long time.  The sounds of cannons being fired off of a pirate ship.

Before another second passed a cannon ball screeched through the air and hit out new home in the side.  Robert covered both Olivia and I with his body to make sure that none of the debris hit us.

As soon as the debris stopped falling I looked up to see a good sized hole in the second story of the estate.  Robert picked Olivia up in his arms and rushed the both of us inside.  Once we locked up the door tightly, we told Lena and the rest of the help to hide in the cellar.  Robert and I watched as the pirates flowed over the lawn and began to pummel the door.

"Harriet, take Olivia to the cellar.  They cannot get to you there, Will and I have made sure of that," Robert kept staring out the window, trying to ignore eyes contact with me, already knowing what my answer would be.

"But… what about you?" I asked touching his arm lightly.

"It does not matter as long as you and Olivia are safe.  I can lead them away; make them believe that I was the only one here."

"Do not talk nonsense, it does too matter!" I screamed, grabbing harshly at his arm, "I will not lose another one I love!  Especially not my husband."

"Please do not argue.  I-"

Robert was cut short as we both heard Olivia's scream from the other room.  We looked around us quickly and found that she must have run into the other room, looking for her small, toy pistol that she had earlier in the day.  We both rushed into the next room to find a broken widow, crushed in from the outside.  On the side of the room, a pirate had Olivia in his arms asking her and yelling at her to tell him where her parents were.  And strangely… where Captain Jack Sparrow was.  She cried and told him that she didn't know.  He grabbed her leg and twisted, breaking the fragile bone and then threw her to the ground.

I screamed, distracting the pirate and his attention turned directly to Robert who found a cane to the side of the door.  He was wearing dark clothing, as if he previously thought it would shelter him, as if he would blend into the night.  He gave both of us a nasty smile and Robert lunged forward.  I quickly ran over to Olivia, picked her up and ran straight toward the cellar.

My motherly instincts took over and I could only think of getting Olivia safe and her leg treated.  Robert threw the pirate off and then followed; closing and locking doors behind us.  He picked up a spare sword from one of the rooms as we passed through.  At the end of the long hall he crowded Olivia and I in the cellar with Lena and the others.  As soon as he closed the door and I locked us in, I heard the clash of metal.  Then… silence…

I heard nothing for a few seconds that grew into minutes.  After those agonizing minutes I heard a few muffled words exchanged between the men.  Before I even had a chance to move, a broad sword pushed through the wood of the cellar door.  It was tipped with dark red.

I turned away.  I knew what happened.  At that moment… I knew I had lost my husband.  The sword withdrew from the wood and someone began banging on the heavy wooden door.  After a few moments, they gave up and it was silent again.

The help started to bandage and correct Olivia's leg as I held on and tried to keep her quiet.  Her eyes were filled with tears, more than likely from the pain in her leg.  I just held on tight.  It was the only thing I knew how to do at the time.  Just to hold on and never let go.

About the time the next morning came William Turner found us in the cellar and helped us out.  That night, before going into hiding, we buried Robert in the cemetery behind our home.  Right next to Dena.  He died saving both Olivia and I.  He died saving his family.

*~*End Flashback*~*

"He did what he thought was right," Kat said with a small, low voice after Harriet had finished.

"No… He did what he _knew_ was right," Harriet went into a blank stare as her eyes focused on the edge of the grass nearby.  She then began to speak again in a monotone voice, "I want to kill them all.  Their whole crew.  Feel their blood on my hands.  Especially the one that killed Robert.  I want to see his full, fear filled face as he drops dead to the ground.  Then I would be happy."

"That won't bring Robert back, Harriet."

"But it will avenge him," Harriet broke her stare and looked up at Jack, "Why would someone do this?"

"No one would do this," Jack said in a callous, rough tone, "Only monsters like Barbossa are able of these acts."

"So, we should continue to the hiding spot, shall we?" Norrington intervened.

"Yes, I think it wise if we move on," Kat nodded and helped Harriet find solid footing, "Lead us to it."

Norrington nodded his head, keeping his eyes away from connecting with Harriet's and started a quick pace.  The rest of the walk was silent and unfulfilling.  No one started light conversation- or any talk for that matter.  Everything seemed to be dead… silent… lonely.  Passing through some of the rubble, some bodies could still be seen, or at lest parts of them could be seen.

Jack put his arm around Kat's waist, trying to both comfort her and to keep her warm.  Thanks to the climate and the now low buildings the wind began to pick up and Kat did not think to bring something to wear over her shirt.  The crew of the Pearl was wondering where the extra woman came form, since they were not present when Kat and Norrington picked up Harriet from the cemetery.  Harriet clung to the shawl that was draped over her shoulders and watched the ground pass by.  The silent procession continued on until Norrington stopped abruptly at the edge of some rocks.

"Why stop here?" Kat looked around, still cautious about the pirate situation.

"This is where we are hiding," Harriet pushed past some brush and showed a heavy looking door to Kat and Jack.

Norrington opened the door with a key and held it open as Harriet went in.  She gave him a nod of thanks and was followed by Kat.  Jack patted Norrington on the back as he entered and Norrington rolled his eyes.  He turned and told his men to guard the surrounding areas, but not to linger near the actual hiding place.  Soon after he followed the others into hiding, locking the door behind him.

Harriet led the way, Norrington held at the back, while Jack and Kat looked at the place.  At the moment, they were stepping down a small staircase, lit with tiny candles prodded into the wall.  At the end of the staircase there was a huge room that seemed to be used as a living quarters for the time being.  People were spread over the room in their own space.  To the opposite side of the room there were a few other tunnels heading to where Kat could only guess.

Kat looked around the room at each person, trying to find some familiar faces.  For quite a while she could not find one.

"Jack?" a meek voice called out from the side of the doorway, "Captain Jack Sparrow?"

Jack looked at a woman who strode over to him.  He braced himself for a slap, but it never came.  Instead only a small bit of silence filled the void.

"Jack, open your eyes, I'm not going to slap you," the woman said gently.

Jack opened his eyes and a smile began to appear, "Lizzie."

"Elizabeth?" Kat stepped forward and was immediately swept into a hug.

"It is lovely to see you again, Kat," Elizabeth said after she released her from the hug, "I was hoping that you would find our suave pirate."

"Where is Will?" Kat said in a little giggle.

"Oh, he is running around somewhere.  More than likely trying to round up Olivia, Jessie and Emily."

Both Jack and Kat's faces melted, "How is Olivia?"

"Just fine," Elizabeth said quietly, "She gets along wonderfully on her crutches."

"Crutches?" Kat looked at Elizabeth confused.

"Will found two canes and modified them so Olivia can still walk and play… somewhat normally," Elizabeth finished a little unevenly.

Before too long Will trudged over to where Elizabeth was sitting with Jack and Kat… with a child under each arm and another following close behind.  Little two-year-old Emily was upside down in her father's left arm and Jessie was trying to kick and wiggle his way out of his father's grasp.  Then about three feet behind him was little Olivia leaning on her new crutches, but with her same bright smile and demeanor present.  She poked and laughed at Jessie and taunted him on how he had managed to get himself caught, while she hadn't.  Even though she was the one that was reduced to using crutches.

"I told you," she beamed at Jessie's sour face, "No one can beat Jack Sparrow!"

"Aye, tha' be true," Jack said loudly, gaining the attention of all three children and Will.  Will barely noticed that they were there while he was focused primarily on finding his wife.

"Jack," Will grinned, "I didn't see-"

"Uncle Jack!" Olivia pushed off of her crutches toward Jack and tried to jump into his arms.  Jack leaned over and quickly pulled her up in his arms.

"Well, who this be 'ere?  This can't be Olivia!  Yer way to big and way too luvely, luv," Jack joked with Olivia a little and gained a few giggles from the young girl.  She bounced in his arms, trying to show her excitement.  She grabbed his prized hat from him with a wide smile and placed it on her own head.

"I knew it!  I knew you were coming back!" Olivia said to him with a wide smile, "You promised me and I waited!  Now you're here!"

"He's not the only one who came back," Kat said acting a little hurt and with a pout, "I'm back too."

Olivia looked at Kat and her smile faded.  She looked at Jack with a confused face and then back at Kat with squinted eyes, "Kitty Kat…?"

"What's wrong?  Why do you look so confused?" Kat questioned, putting down her arms that she had spread out in front of her, "It's me …Kat."

Harriet came up to them from another group of women and saw the situation.  Meanwhile, Will and Elizabeth decided that they needed privacy and went to another part of the big room.  Olivia looked at Kat then at Jack, and then buried her small head into his heavy jacket, away from Kat's gaze.  Kat tried to gain back her attention and looked her in the eyes, craning her head a bit to align her vision.

"You… but you were dead," Olivia said softly, "Bad, mean pirates killed my Kitty Kat."

Kat seemed to jump back a bit from her statement and looked up at Jack.  He looked at Kat with a confused expression and then over at Harriet.  Kat turned to see her cousin standing by a little uneasy.

"Harriet?" Kat asked her with a worried tone.

Harriet shifted a little, "I had to tell her that you were dead.  She kept telling people that you were alive.  Soon enough I knew that soldiers would start to question Robert and I.  We had to keep it quiet."

"So you told her a lie?" Kat asked a little more harshly than she meant it to.

"She stopped talking about you after that… she kept quiet… and we thought you would be safe," Harriet tried to justify her and Robert's decision.

"Mommy?" Olivia asked, picking her head up from Jack's chest.  Her small head switched back and forth between Harriet and Kat and then up to her Uncle Jack, "What is happening?"

Harriet looked at Olivia in Jack's arms and touched her face lightly, "Honey… I don't know how to tell you this… I told you a lie.  This is your Kitty Kat."

"A lie?" Olivia's voice trailed off as she thought and her mother continued.

"Your Kitty Kat was not dead.  She was alive-"

"She was!" Olivia looked at Kat and smiled happily before turning back to her mother, "You lied…"

"I hope one day you can understand why.  I'll leave you to talk.  I bet you have a lot to tell Kat and Jack," Harriet walked toward one of the tunnels with her head down, and disappeared into a separate room.

"Why did mommy lie?" Olivia asked, hurt shining in her eyes. She knew what a lie was.

"Oh Olivia," Kat took Olivia from Jack's arm's and looked her in the eyes, "Sometimes people think that they have to lie.  Sometimes they have to do things they don't want to do."

"Even lying?!" Olivia asked astonished at the thought.

"Even lying.  Sometimes to keep our loved one's from getting hurt, we have to say things we don't want to."

"Aye," Jack said chiming in and standing near them, "Like when I told Kat 'ere tha' I didn' luv her and left fer Tortuga."

Kat hit him lightly in the side with her elbow that wasn't supporting Olivia's weight, "Bad example, Jack."

"But it hurt me when she told me you were gone.  I thought I wouldn't see you again."

"It was better that she told you that, then a soldier finding out that I was alive.  He would have more than likely got to me and Jack," she looked at Olivia; trying to get her to understand, "Don't be so hard on your mother.  She was trying to do what was right."

Olivia nodded and started to talk about what had happened between the time Kat 'died' and now.  She hugged and giggled with her Kitty Kat and Uncle Jack.  She was so happy to know that they were both happy and free.

"And then… then the mean pirate broke my leg.  See!" she pointed to her leg that was wrapped and had a makeshift splint around it, "Then daddy-"

Olivia stopped dead.  Kat and Jack knew why.  Kat gave the little girl's arm a squeeze and Olivia turned to her, "Is daddy really dead?"

Kat looked at Jack quickly and then back at Olivia, "Yes Olivia.  Your daddy isn't coming back."

"Oh," Olivia said softly, "I wasn't so sure."

"Why not?" Kat asked.

"Mommy told me," Olivia said, then picking up into a lighter tone and happier demeanor, "Tomorrow's my birthday!  I'm going to be four!" she holds up four of her still slightly chubby fingers.

Before Kat could say anything Jack smiled and jumped in, "Four all ready?  Well, I think ye should get a present early."

"Present!" Olivia tried to jump out of Kat's arms, but fell right back into her with out her crutches to balance her.

"Calm down, Olivia," Kat giggled a little at the young girl.

"I'll be righ' back, luv," Jack winked.

"You're not going out there, are you?" Kat asked, worry apparent in her voice.

"'O course not.  The crew brough' some supplies in 'ere.  I 'ave the perfect present fer Olivia.  But I 'ave to find Anamaria."

"All right!" Olivia started to get on her crutches and push at Jack from behind.  Jack chuckled a little and started to walk faster.

Kat shook her head nonchalantly and decided to walk towards the direction Harriet went.  She needed to talk with her cousin… badly.  Kat walked down the tunnel Harriet had only an hour ago.  She found an open door and found Harriet sitting on a bed.  She looked up at Kat as soon as she entered the room.

"She hates me, doesn't she?" Harriet asked miserably.

"No," Kat sat next to her, holding her hands within hers, "She's just confused.  She'd never truly hate you, even if she says she does one day."

"This can't be undone by a simple apology," Harriet looked up at her.

"She has to grow up faster than most, Harriet.  In the past week she lost her father and the use of her right leg and… her childhood.  She has to be more mature than most.  She has to grow up too fast."

"What do I do then?"

"Be there for her.  Hold her.  Be her mother," Kat patted Harriet on the stomach, "Be both of their mothers.  They both need you terribly."

Harriet nodded and looked to the door with a smile on her lips, "It looks like Jack needs a little help."

Kat turned and looked at the doorway where Jack was being weighed down by the two Turner children and Olivia hanging from his neck.  She covered her mouth to keep from laughing at the picture in front of her.  Jessie on one arm and Emily on the other, giving Jack a little weight unbalance.

"Will ain't going to help me," Jack struggled to keep balance, "The stupid whelp."

Will came into the room and looked at Jack in an improving fashion, "At least I am not covered with children."

"Hm," Kat considered, "Hey everyone!  Will has something good in his pockets!  Tackle him to get it!"

The children stopped hanging on Jack and ran –or limped as the case may be- over to Will and tackled him to the bed beside Harriet.  They all searched Will and his pockets for their sweet food or toys.  Kat walked over to Jack with a playful smile.

"Why didn't ye help me, luv?" Jack asked a little out of breath as he came up to Kat.

"Well, since you are all ready a husband, why not be trained as a father," Kat whispered… apparently not low enough.

"You're what?!" Harriet asked, "You married?"

"You're married?!" Will piped up from beneath the pile of three children.

"Aye, and wha's the problem?" Jack asked with a raised brow.

"Nothing," Harriet said, "I was just hoping for some news."

"Considering that Jack had warrants for his arrest and I was suppose to be dead, we didn't want to take the chance," Kat explained.

"Uncle Jack," Olivia hobbled to the pirate, "Will you play with me and the sword you got me?" she held up a smaller form of Jack's cutlass in her hands.

"Actually," Kat interjected, "It's my turn to play with Uncle Jack."

Jack turned to her and lifted one eyebrow seductively.  A smirk began to grow on his features, "Will… where be Kat and me room?"

"It is two rooms down on the right," Will said partially amused.

"Thank ye," Jack said quickly, picking up Kat and rushing down to the room.

Will looked at Harriet, "I still can't see him settled down."

"Same with Kat.  She was always a free spirit," Harriet smiled, "I bet that she'll keep him busy for a while, though."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked innocently.

Will shook his head and ushered Jessie and Emily out of the room, "Never you mind."

"But I wanna know too!" Jessie voiced his opinion.

"Ask you mother," Will said exasperated.

"I heard that William Turner!" Elizabeth yelled at him.  A sudden face full of fear covered Will's usually calm exterior.

"Yes dear…"

*******~*~*~*~*~*~********

**_A/N_**:  Sorry it took sooooooo long again.  I was having a very hard time with my computers.  But nonetheless here it is.  See, it wasn't little Olivia… I'm not that cold hearted.  Kill a little girl…. Huh, I'm not a monster!

…………

I just killed her father…. Sorry.  Anyway, next chapter is being written, so hold on tight.  Until next chapter!

^-~ Ana


	5. Olivia's Fourth Birthday

Chapter 5: Olivia's Fourth Birthday

            Kat felt Jack's strong arm still wrapped around her waist.  She felt his other arm beneath her head acting like a pillow.  She smiled upon thinking that it more than likely will be asleep when he woke up.  She definitely did not want to get up just yet, especially under the circumstances.  She just wanted to stay put and let the rest of the day pass her by.  Let the wind carry her grief and guilt far away to another beach.  Another port.  No such luck during her lifetime.  She knew that Jack was still asleep by his rhythmic breaths and didn't want to disturb him.

Although before the morning had completely sunk in for her, three children were whole-heartedly ambushing Kat and Jack.  Jessie and Emily bounced on Jack making him grumble and nearly jump out of his skin.  Olivia had flung herself from her crutches and across Kat's waist.  With an 'oof' Kat looked down at her, surprised that she was roughhousing in her limited mobility and condition.

"Wake up, Kat!" Olivia bounced a little on her and put her arms on either one of her hips, "Guess what?"

"Tell me," Kat half grumbled.

"Mommy and Jessie's and Emily's Mommy and Daddy are throwing me a birthday celebration today!" she shouted excitedly.

Kat smiled at her and then looked over at Jack's predicament.  Jessie sat on the top of Jack's chest, straddling him with a leg on each side, his arms crossed over his own little chest and a triumphant smile plastered on his face.  Emily in the meantime was planted firmly on Jack's legs, trying to make him near immobile.  The two Turners had the pirate pinned beneath their grasps.

"I guess that the _real_ Jack Sparrow isn't that hard to beat," Jessie proclaimed, sure that he was the winner and would have the pirate begging for mercy.

"I wouldn' celebrate jus' yet," Jack bolted up making Jessie topple off from his chest and Emily loosen her grip on his legs.  He grabbed the two children in two swoops of his arms.  The two children squealed with joy and laughed as loud as they could.  They shouted that they were captured and screamed with delight with calls for help.  As soon as Jack sat up on the bed with a Turner child under each arm, Olivia took it was her cue and wrapped her arms around Jack's neck.  He stood up with little effort, pulling Olivia off of the bed.  Kat smiled watching Jack wrestle with the three children as he walked toward the hall outside the bedroom.

"Luv, ain't ye goin' to help me?" Jack sighed a little.

"Maybe," Kat said as she let out a breath of air.

Jack rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, thankful that he had his pants on from the early morning. Kat stayed in bed for a few moments before she decided to get up.  Before too long she felt a weird feeling in her stomach and she hugged her gut.  She slowly got up and headed toward an extra compartment used for bathing and washing, complete with a bathtub probably left over from the attack.  She walked and stumbled toward what looked like the sink, leaned over and just held her gut on both sides.  Nearly every substance left in her stomach seemed to spill out into the sink.  She didn't know what was wrong.  She just felt so sick all of the sudden.  After she was done she took a breath and a drink of water.

"What was that all about?" she whispered to herself.

She felt a hand land gently on her shoulder and she turned to see Jack, who had Olivia's crutches in his hands, "Ye all righ', luv?'

Kat stood up straight and put a fake smile on her face, "Just fine.  I guess the rum from last night finally got to me."

"Ye only 'ad two swigs," Jack said not believing her, "I don't even think ye drank any.  Ye were jus' humorin' me."

"You know I can never hold my rum," Kat said pulling herself together and whipping what was left of her last meal from her mouth, "Forget Olivia's crutches?"

"Aye, the celebration is 'bout to begin," he smiled and nodded toward the main hall, "Ye comin'?"

She looked down at Jack's large shirt that she was wearing and how Jack still had no shirt on.  A smirk played on her face and she giggled a little under her breath, "I think that we both need to be fully dressed to attend."

Jack chuckled a little, nodded and wrapped his arms lightly around Kat's waist placing his forehead on hers, "All righ'.  But I be a little hesitant 'bout leavin' ye be, as ye look as enticin' as ye are.  But I'll go along and find a shirt."

"Thank you," she kissed the tip of his nose and smiled, "Who ever said that you couldn't be civilized?"

"I believe tha' be ye, not but jus' over a year ago," he gave a small kiss back on her nose and turned toward the bedroom.

Kat hit him lightly in the arm and watched him grab a shirt that was laying part way out of his bag near the door.  She put herself together and looked for some clothes to wear.  She found a tan colored shirt and black pants.  After a moment or two she also found her boots that were flung to the other side of the room the night before.  She quickly pulled them on and smoothed out her hair.  With another look in the mirror and a deep breath after the feeling in her stomach went away, she stepped out the doorway and down the main hall.

The main room had dramatically changed from the day before.  The room still held the dim lighting, but colorful cloth hung above everyone's head brought a little brightness into the room.  The colorful material covered every nook and cranny of the room.  Making sure that there would be no sad thoughts today.  Today was about celebration.

Children were running around the table to the side were Jack was sitting, brandishing his pistol.  It seemed that there were only six children in all.  Kat couldn't imagine- or didn't want to imagine- how many children actually died in the attack.  She remembered so many more were alive and living in Port Royal when she left.

Kat walked over to Jack and smiled when he looked up, "Feelin' better?"

"Yes much," she looked at the pistol in his hands, "Why do you have your pistol out here with all the children running about?"

"It ain't loaded," Jack argued holding it up to prove his statement, "And it was left out 'ere last nigh'.  Jessie brough' it to me attention."

"And just why was it left out here?" Kat put her hands on her hips and tried to be the intimidating wife.

"Well, ye did want to 'play' last nigh', luv," he winked at her and gave her a smirk.

Kat gave her own smart smirk back, but couldn't hide her blushing.  She smiled at the children that began to clutter around Jack and stared admiring the legendary pirate captain.

"Uncle Jack," Olivia started as she sat down next to him placing her crutches to the side, "Tell us about how you defeated Captain Catterine and saved Kat!"

"Ye 'ave to be more clear on tha', luv," Jack smiled, "I saved her so many times, I can't keep count anymore."

Kat gave another smile and watched as Jack tried his best and began to tell the group of children his exciting tales.  She knew very well that he couldn't just stop at one.  Before he got too far into one of his tales Kat turned toward the different groups piled around the room, enjoying the left behind wine and water that was brought out for the party.  In one corner on the far side of the celebration Kat could see Norrington propping himself up on one of the doorframes.  He was eyeing another group very closely and Kat could see why.

On the other side of the doorway a group of her shipmates were talking and singing pretty loudly as they broke out another batch of rum, and any sight of pirates seemed to upset the new commodore.  She didn't see Anamaria or Charlie in the group and wondered where they could have gone off to.  Away from the crew's group, led by Gibbs, there were two or three groups of adults and young adults talking and chatting about the new celebration.  As she scanned the groups she tried to find Will and Elizabeth Turner, because they were more than likely near Harriet and she was the hostess.  She also had all the knowledge of the celebration's going on.

She finally found Will on the side of the one of the groups talking and joking with some of the other parents, "Morning Will.  Have you seen Harriet?"

"Morning Kat," Will smiled and looked over her shoulder and toward the other groups, "Um, she was here just a moment ago.  She is probably in the food locker with Elizabeth getting the cake ready."

"Food locker?"

"Yeah, we keep the food under lock and key so we wouldn't have to worry about it," Will looked back at her after taking another quick look around the main room.

"Well, tell her I'm looking for her.  I want to know when I can give Olivia her gift."

"All right, when I see her, I'll tell you," Will nodded and went back to meeting and greeting other survivors that had emerged from their rooms.

Kat began to walk around the room again, until she felt a delicate hand touch her arm, "Katerina Benikins?"

She turned around and faced a worn looking woman.  She wasn't as old as she looked; by the way she presented herself and her clothes she couldn't be any older than Kat.  Her blond hair was wrapped into a bun on the top of her head and her green eyes were a little faded.  She looked tired and dilapidated, the days spent down below hasn't helped her to survive.  It looked as though she was barely hanging on to her life essence.  Kat focused her eyes on the woman and tried to recall a face or voice to match her own.

"I'm sorry.  I don't seem to recall," Kat looked at her trying desperately to remember the stranger.

"I don't doubt it.  You were always a pity party at the academy when you were there the few short days, until you went crying home to daddy," the woman said straightening her back.

Suddenly a light went on in Kat's head, "Athena Strenen."

"That's Athena Brenton now," she held up her left hand to show Kat her wedding ring, "Well, I guess you could say Widow Brenton thanks to the scum that destroyed the city."

"I'm sorry," Kat bowed her head, "James was a wonderful boy when I met him.  I bet he turned out to be wonderful man."

"He did.  But now he is dead thanks to his kind," she nodded over towards Jack.

"What about his kind?" Kat crossed her arms over her chest, becoming a bit defensive against her former polishing school classmate.

"What about you Katerina?" Athena ignored Kat's question and began to circle her a bit, "I see that the classes didn't do you any good and that you have in fact risen from the grave sort of speak.  I heard that you were long dead.  Killed by the same crew that attacked the port if I'm not mistaken."

"What does that have to do with anything, Athena?  I'm here now and I'm willing to help.  So is Jack," Kat still held her defensive position in front of her.

"Jack is its name is it?" she turned her head quickly from Jack back to Kat a few times, "Last I heard you tried to run off with a pirate.  Loved him, even.  Is that true Benikins?"

Kat clenched her eyes shut as the name repeated in her mind over and over for a few moments.  She always hated the nickname.  Athena would constantly rub it in her face at polishing school when they were younger.  That her mother was dead, along with her brothers, how it was all her fault, and that her daddy didn't love her anymore and that's why she was sent there in the first place.  It wasn't the happiest of days of her childhood.

Kat took a breath and opened her eyes to face Athena.  She smiled a little and held up her left hand, "Actually, it's now Kat Sparrow."

Kat watched as Athena's face turned to surprised as she focused on the rings on Kat's finger.  Kat couldn't help but relish in the fact that Athena was finally suffering from the knowledge that she had something better.  And still had a husband; even though when she ran the thought through her mind again, it sounded awful.

"So you did do it," Athena said under her breath, "You married a pirate and gave up you fortune."

"I followed my heart.  Money has nothing to do with it," Kat said putting her hand back down, "I would think you would understand, being married once."

"Thrice," Athena corrected her.

"What?"

"James was my third husband," Athena said in a somewhat proud voice, "This time, I actually achieved in receiving a fortune."

"You still don't understand the concept of love, do you Athena?  You never did.  All you cared about was how you shone in the public eye and how you could push your way to the top," Kat growled in a low voice.

"It worked, didn't it?" Athena snapped and let a smile replace her scowl, "And if I see our situations clearly… it seems that I have the fortune and you have a boat."

Kat's eyes grew with intense hatred and she slapped Athena hard across the face, nearly throwing her down to the floor, "How dare you speak that way about the Pearl!"

"It's just a bloody boat, Katerina.  And you know it.  You have always known it.  A pirate boat even," Athena propped herself up on one of the walls and looked back at Kat and then over her shoulder, "Just like your husband is a bloody, filthy and disgusting piece of scum; no better than to be under the surface of my boot.  If even that."

Kat was about to lunge at her when Jack caught her around the waist from behind, "Kat, calm down, luv."

Kat struggled against Jack trying to reach out and tear Athena to ribbons, "She insulted not only the Pearl, but you too Jack.  I can't let her get away with that!  Let me go!"

"She don't understand wha's she sayin', luv.  She lost someone too, no doubt.  Emotions run haywire when tha' 'appens.  Now come on and sit down with me.  Olivia's 'bout to open gifts."

"All right Jack," Kat relaxed a bit in his arms and then started to walk toward where Jack was sitting with the children.

"That's right, listen to your good for nothing husband, Benikins," Athena called out behind her, "You'll need to learn how to follow orders when you find yourself in a jail cell one day!"

Kat squinted her eyes and bit and kept walking.  She was not going to let her get to her this time.  Not this time.

"So wha be her story?" Jack said once he sat Kat back down.

Kat looked at him in the face and let out a very long breath; "She and I were in the same polishing school when I was sixteen.  She was the best-known girl in the school… until I showed up.  The consequences of my departure from my father were a bit over dramatized and the other children picked up on it.  I became famous over night.  She didn't like that."

"She try to insult you?"

"No, not at first," Kat stared into a candle burning nearby, "She actually became my friend, but not under the normal circumstances.  She tried to find out the whole story and spread it.  It was amazing how much information she got out of me on the first day.  And then, the talk started… and I was sent back home.  The teachers and advisors didn't want an arsonist in their midst.  Only then did I see her for what she truly was.  And now, I'm a bit more cautious of telling people my thoughts and secrets."

"Except from me, of course," Jack gave a small smile.

"Of course," Kat smiled back and wrapped her arms around him, "Why can't we ever get a normal life?"

"A pirate's life is never normal, luv," he looked down at her face and swiped some of her hair away, "Ye knew tha' comin' into it."

"I know, I just wish it were," Kat sighed and heard an excited breath come from Olivia as she opened her first present, "We should join in."

Jack nodded and they headed over just in time to see Olivia open Kat's gift.  Inside a small box there was a small gold pendent with a little sapphire placed in the middle.  Olivia hugged Kat, thanked her, put it on immediately and showed it off to everyone that gathered.  Kat could have sworn she heard Athena mutter something about it being looted.  Even though it was true, Kat didn't appreciate the comment; she worked hard to get the pendant for Olivia.

After the last gift from Jessie, a bag of sweets that he had been saving for quite a while, Olivia started to shout for the cake.  As Elizabeth began to emerge with the cake covered in white frosting a loud breaking noise came from the stairwell leading to the outside.

Norrington, Will and Jack looked up the stairwell and quickly closed the inner, thick wooden doors.  Harriet grabbed Olivia in her arms and held on to her.

"Please, not again," she whispered.

Kat turned to her and then looked at Jack and Will, "What is it?"

Will came back over and grabbed Emily and Jessie, with Elizabeth not too far behind, "They found us."

Kat jumped up and began to follow him after Jack caught up, "What are we going to do?"

Will set Jessie down on the ground and gave Emily over to Elizabeth, "The tunnels lead to different sections.  More rooms and food are set further back into the tunnels.  I want you and Elizabeth to take the women and children back into the tunnels.  There you will lock yourselves in and stay there until we come for you."

"I don't know the way," Kat said.

"But I do," Elizabeth stepped forward, "Women and children come with me."

Will looked at Elizabeth and they gave each other a kiss before leaving, "Don't leave me now Will."

"I promise," he ran his hand through her hair and turned toward the doors with a new rifle and sword at his side.

Kat turned to Jack and gave him a tight hug, "I want to stay and fight.  But I already know that the answer is no, and there is no way I can change that, is there?"

"Ye know me all too well," Jack smiled down at her, "Ye take care of Harriet now, she needs you."

"_I_ need _you_," she pleaded.

"I'll come back for you," he promised, lifting her chin to meet her eyes.

"I expect you in bed by eleven at the latest," Kat said smiling, "And I don't want to hear the excuse, 'I'm sorry, luv.  I was havin' too much fun fightin' the undead.'"

Jack chuckled a little, "I won't be late."

Kat reached on her tiptoes and gave Jack a kiss on the lips, trying to hold on as long as she could before she had to let him go, "Be careful.  If you get yourself killed, I might just have to kill you."

She ran off down the hall following the group of women and children, with Elizabeth in the lead.

"Ye know wha ye be doin', Will?" Jack asked, sitting down beside him.

"Let my ask you a question, Jack," Will said laoding his rifle.

"Wha's tha'?"

"Have a ever given you a reason not to trust me?" Will gave him a smirk and clicked his rifle to a ready position.  Jack smiled back and readied his pistol.  It was going to be a long fight.

A/N: Hey everyone.  It might be almost eleven-thirty at night, but I did it.  There it is, the fifth chapter.  Isn't it lovely?  I'm sorry it took so long.  I've been having some really big problems.  I would have had it up earlier this week, but the school's jazz teacher died this last Friday and I've been distraught.  And then I got into a typing mood.  Good for you guys.  Anyway, I should go and do my homework, update later.  And plase review, I need some good news these days.


	6. Pirate Fights

**A/N**: Hey everybody, I'm back. I just had to get the rest of my senior year stuff out of the way. I'm almost free of high school and with that, I will have free time. And that means more writing time. Which means more chapters for you, as long as I can get my college life together. Well, here is chapter six. Enjoy. .

**Chapter Six: Pirate Fights**

Jack crouched down beside Will watching the door bend inward and then relax with every push the pirates give it from the outside. It was strange; it was as if the door was breathing. The young blacksmith held his rifle in hand and made sure that his sword was still at his side, it needed be there if he ended up having to use it in close combat. Jack looked over at Will and saw such intensity burning in his eyes, such focus. He understood nonetheless. Elizabeth and the kids were in danger if he didn't stop the pirates from advancing. So was Kat.

"Wha' do ye think will 'appen once they tear down tha' door?" Jack asked turning his attention back on the breathing door.

"I've never seen these in pirates in action, so I do not know what to expect as of yet," William said aiming his rifle at the door as some wood splintered off and flew to the side of the room.

Norrington sat down on the other side of Jack loading his own pistol and rifle, "The women and children have all gone into the back caverns. Although it took quite a lot of persuasion to get your female pirate back."

"Tha's Anamaria for you," Jack smiled to himself, "She don't know the concept 'o 'no' and 'borrowed without permission'."

"Yes, well I hope she can stand her ground if we cannot do any damage up here," Norrington watched as Jack's smile faded and his face turned serious.

"Will, ye better be righ' 'bout one thin'," Jack paused a little as he loaded his pistol and cocked it back, "Ye better be sure tha' those tunnels are safe. If I find tha' they have a flaw and Kat be in any danger-"

"Would you think I would let Elizabeth and the children back there if I thought they did?"

Jack nodded his head, "Sorry, mate. It tha's me protective side showin'."

"I understand," Will nodded his head. Suddenly the loud pummeling against the heavy door stopped and the opening hall was quiet. The men looked around at each other waiting for an explanation. It seemed that no one had one. Will was about to stand when Jack took hold of his sleeve and brought him back down and shook his head. Other men around the room began to stand up and relax a bit, Norrington being one of the first.

"Well, that was a very ill attempt to break in here," he brushed off the sleeve of his jacket and looked at the door disappointed, "They stopped too soon."

"Get back down, ye idiot!" Jack barked, pulling Norrington back down next to him as a stray bullet from a crack in the door whizzed by his head, knocking off his commodore hat.

"I thought that they had left," Norrington choked trying to find the hole in which they were shooting from.

"They ain't goin' to leave unless it is with me head," Jack commented and looked Norrington in the eyes, "Listen 'ere, Commodore. Try- at least one time in yer life- to think like a pirate. It may jus' save yer skin."

Norrington would have normally put his nose up at such a suggestion, but thought better of it and nodded his head. A few more shots rang out from the door and everyone kept down. Jack still had his eyes on the door, waiting.

'Jus' five more shots to go.'

* * *

Kat was running behind the group of women with Anamaria and Charlie. Charlie was still thought of as a child in the eyes of the other men and by Norrington, so he had to go with Kat and the others. Anamaria looked back over her shoulder ever once in a while, trying to make heads or tales and why there was no shooting yet. Kat kept her head and eyes toward the front of the group, but kept her ears open. If there was a first shot, she would hear it.

"Where are the shots?" Charlie whispered to Kat, "Shouldn't there be shots?"

"First things first, Charlie," Kat said, "Never shoot unless they shoot, but also make sure you're the faster draw. You do not want to be so quick to assume that they are hostile and cannot be bargained with. But you do not want to be the dead body on the floor, so only once you see the barrel begin to raise do you shoot first."

"Where is that written?"

"There be a bit 'o common sense in tha', Charlie," Anamaria said facing forward once again, "There's somethin' wrong, Kat. Ye know this be a bad crew. They _will_ be hostile. Why isn't there any shootin'?"

Suddenly a shot rang through the cavern and Kat squinted, "Happy, Anamaria?"

"Not really."

Shots began to ring out ever so often, although there were no shots back from what Kat could tell. Soon enough Kat understood, "Three more shots to go."

Anamaria looked at Kat and smiled a bit, "The 'ol door trick, ey?"

* * *

"Why aren't we shooting back, may I ask?" Norrington shouted over one of the shots.

"It wouldn't do any good," Jack relied calmly looking through the barrel of his pistol and reloading it again, "Behind tha' door, they be protected well."

"What do you propose we do then?" Norrington tried to sound smart.

"We wait for one more shot," Jack raised his pistol, "Then we begin to shot like mad."

"Why-"

One last shot rang through the air and a rush of pirates run into the room. Shots rained down on the three of them from all sides. Jack gave a smug look at Norrington and then began to shoot over the top of their small shield. Will soon followed suit and began to mow down the pirates before them. Norrington shook his head, checked his firearm and began to fire like mad, as instructed. Will shot a few of the on coming pirates down and then reloaded. Once he looked back over the side he saw the same pirates he had just shot down stand back up and yell.

"What kind of pirates-?" Will began to shout through the shots and began to shoot down the same pirates again. A bullet shot down the pirate to the side of him. Will looked to his side and ducked back down with Jack.

"The cursed kind, William," Jack grumbled and looked over Will's shoulder at Norrington.

"What?" Will looked over at Norrington who just ducked out of the way of another bullet, "You didn't destroy the chest?!"

"Can we have this discussion at another time, Turner?" Norrington offered while shooting over the side, "They are advancing after all."

Will looked as more pirates began to file into the entrance hall and trample the many decorations that were put up for Olivia's birthday. He put his rifle at his side and began to growl in Norrington's direction, "Believe me Norrington, we will talk later about this."

"Now wha' we be doin', gentlemen?" Jack asked looking at Will and Norrington for guidance, "There be no way we will win this battle."

"We have to fall back… for now," Will said.

He stood on his knees and whistled into the cavern. After a few seconds some more whistles were heard over the shots. Will nodded to the two others and began to run back. Jack went next, watching as the soldiers shot millions of bullets at the pirates while the civilians went toward the back caverns. The soldiers began to catch on and began to follow the civilian men. Norrington was one of the last soldiers to fall back toward the caverns. As the last soldiers passed under the back arch Will went to the side and lit some powder that Jack had over looked before.

Jack noticed as the wick began to quickly make its way toward the bottom of the arch. Will passed Jack and kept walking a little faster than normal. Norrington stood by, waiting for more of the pirates to show. Jack started to run past him, flailing his arms as he went.

"I would move, Norrington," Jack said as he passed the commodore. Norrington caught the message and began running beside the pirate captain. Soon the whole cavern shook with the blast. Jack and Norrington flew forward toward the other men.

* * *

Kat heard and felt the blast and took the step toward the other direction, "Jack!"

"Kat," Anamaria caught her arm and shook her head 'no' and nodded toward the children, "We need to keep goin'."

Kat nodded and took and unsure look in the direction they were fleeing from, "Let's keep going."

* * *

"Wasn't expectin' tha'," Jack said after the tunnel stopped shaking. He looked up to see Will's hand sticking out toward him.

"Neither were they," Will smiled, helping him up, "Let's get back to the women. The rocks will keep them at bay for a little while."

"Now where do we get out 'o 'ere?" Jack asked looking around.

"There is another way. No worries, Jack. I planned well enough ahead for such an occasion."

"Ye mean jus' in case a band 'o cursed pirates come back to Port Royal lookin' fer yer pal, Jack?" Jack smiled while walking next to Will and watching the others stand up from the shock.

All of his crew that stayed in the tunnel with him lived through the ordeal, with most of them having the past history of fighting cursed crews. Some had injures, none were too threatening. Gibbs was hit in the foot by a stray bullet by the look of it and Mr. Henders was shot in the side of the arm. The injured men were being dragged in; some of them were unknowingly dead by the men they were being dragged by. Most of the dead were soldiers- Norrington's men- which in all honesty, Jack wasn't surprised by. The civilian men in Port Royal did better than the newly trained, young soldiers. As many of the injured were being cleaned Jack went over to access the injuries to his first mate and crewmember.

"How ye doin' there, Gibbs?" Jack asked leaning on the rock above where Gibbs was resting, "Stray bullet graze ye?"

"Stay bullet, nothin', Cap'n," Gibbs muttered and nodded toward a still shaking young soldier, "'E decided to load his firearm while it was aimin' toward me foot. It ain't the best experience, I'll tell ye tha' much."

Jack chuckled a bit under his breath and patted Gibbs on the back, "Hang in there, Gibbs."

Jack rejoined Will and they started to walk over to the cavern where they let the women retreat with the children. They let the injured and others walk ahead of them while they kept an eye on Norrington. Norrington kept his 'imposing' figure and huge stride while trying to stay tall as he walked down the cavern right in front of Will and Jack.

"It's as if he has no remorse for neglecting his duties," Will grumbled, "Is he even sorry?"

"Aye. He doesn't show it, but he does regret. To put Liz and the children through tha' much terror and pain… He would never wan' tha' to 'appen to them. Or even to ye. He jus' didn' believe us."

"Well, thanks to his misjudgment we are in this mess."

"And he knows it. We jus' 'ave to figure out that to do 'bout it."

"Right," Will nodded and was silent about it.

* * *

Kat watched as wounded after wounded was brought through into the room, with injures as serious as a head shot to as miniscule as a twisted ankle. Women ran up to their men, making sure that they could take away any of the pain that the men have been put through. Kat turned to her side to see Athena glare at her for a moment before walking over to help one of the injured men with his leg. The connection to Athena will never be friendly, but it has to remain somewhat mutual for all things to work. Especially when they had to live in a hole for a couple of weeks side by side.

Kat turned her attention back to the door as others began piling in. Anamaria soon found her place beside her and waited for the captain to show himself. They both saw Gibbs and Mr. Henders, glad to hear that they were going to be fine, but what worried her was the fact that Jack was not with them.

"Kat," Anamaria spoke up, "I'll take care 'o Gibbs and Henders. Go find Jack."

Kat nodded and started to turn away from her until Anamaria grabbed her sleeve, "An' I got to talk with ye 'bout Charlie."

"Is he alright?" Kat asked.

"Aye, Charlie be fine. I jus' got to talk with ye 'bout some details."

Kat again nodded and found her place back in front of the doorway, scanning for her husband and absent mindedly fiddled with her wedding ring on her left finger. Elizabeth also sought for some news of her husband who hadn't shown his face of yet in the room either. She had asked a few of the other women, but they were too distraught in their own men's injures that they couldn't take part in hers. She soon found her self at Kat's side and grabbing her hand for comfort. Both women looked at the doorway and found three figures straggle in behind everyone.

Norrington received a glare from Will and turned to Jack, "How may I ask, did you know that they were going to attack when they did?"

"Good 'ol pirate trick, Norrington," Jack smiled and did a little hand gesture, "The bigger the door, the more shots it takes to the weak points till ye can take it down. Meanwhile, it's a good defense against the shots being fired at ye, savvy? A trick 'ol Catterine once taugh' me."

"Catterine?" Will asked while both he and Norrington looked incredulously at Jack before Will was tackled by his wife who hit him with all the force she could muster.

"My God, Will," she hugged him tighter, "Don't ever come in last again! Do you hear me? You scared me to death!"

"Calm down, Liz," Will chuckled a bit, "I battled dead pirates before. I can do it again."

"Dead pirates?" Elizabeth backed up a little away from Will's face and turned toward Norrington, "You didn't destroy the chest?"

Norrington took a huge sigh and walked to the other side of the room. Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and chuckled under his breath.

"It seems tha' we are in the need for a good battle strategy, eh Turner?" Jack asked with his eyes closed.

"It is a brilliant deduction, captain," Jack heard a voice whisper into his ear and a pair of lips brush against his cheeks. He opened his eyes to find Kat looking at him with hands on her hips.

"Ello there, luv," Jack smiled.

"I won't go into the whole 'don't come in last' speech since Elizabeth all ready demonstrated, but please take into consideration that I worry immensely about you," Kat tugged on the collar of Jack's jacket and kissed him softly on the lips, "Savvy?"

"Worry noted, luv," Jack smiled and put an arm around Kat's waist as he turned to Will.

Will gave him a confused look and was about to say something until Olivia hobbled around his legs and lunged toward Jack, almost ending up face first into the dirt. Jack grabbed her at the armpits before she fell completely to the ground and heaved her up so she could sit on his shoulders. She giggled a bit as he began to bounce her up and down and turn from left to right. She grabbed a hold of his head as they went and pushed his hat over his eyes.

"Uncle Jack is funny," she squealed and leaned over to try and look at him in his face, "You fight the pirates well, Uncle Jack?"

"As well as I could, luv," Jack tipped his hat a little from his eyes and lifted the little girl from his shoulders and just held her in his arms for a moment.

"They should know better than to miss with Jack Sparrow!" she exclaimed and put her hands on her hips to show the finality of her statement.

Kat smiled and took Olivia from Jack's arms, "Now please don't start to inflate his sense of self, Olivia."

"She ain't inflatin' me 'sense 'o self' if she be telling the truth, luv," Jack said tapping Olivia on the nose.

"Sparrow," Will said in a little worried tone. Jack turned toward him a little surprised. He had never hard Will refer to him by his last name and finally saw the seriousness written on his face and also turned somber.

"Turner."

"What was that about Catterine teaching you something?" Kat turned to her husband and put Olivia back on her crutches.

"Olivia, why don't you go get mommy and the commodore," Kat watched her hobble off into the crowd in search of her mother and the newly reinstated commodore, then Kat raised head and turned to the others, "I believe we have much to discuss."

"Aye," Jack said and headed toward one of the smaller compartments within the cavern.

All four of them sat in wait for Harriet and Norrington, knowing that they both would want to be present for the explanation. Jack began to pace back and forth in the compartment trying to put his words in proper working order. Will and Elizabeth sat by side on the chairs placed closest to the doors holding each other's hands. The children were being watched by Anamaria, Gibbs and Henders as they recuperated in one of the other compartments. Kat sat on one of the rock formations opposite Will and Elizabeth and watched them as Liz still whispered about how she was worried while the fight was going on. Kat smiled a little to herself as she remembered her heart going five times what it should have been a few dozen moments ago as she waited for Jack to appear.

She turned her head toward Jack who was still pacing a bit and muttering a few things to himself to make sure they didn't sound too crazy. But with the crowd he was going to be talking to, she doubted that anyone was going to argue… except maybe Norrington. She took a breath in and then squinted her eyes closed as she felt another pain in her stomach like she felt earlier that day after she got out of bed. She put one hand over her stomach as another one braced against the wall and pulled her knees toward her. She pushed the excess air out from her mouth and gripped the bottom of her shirt as the pain began to recede a little.

"Kat?" she opened her eyes to find Jack staring back at her, "Ye all righ'?"

"Fine," Kat gave a little smile and let her hands relax, "Just some cramping, I guess. All that worrying doesn't help."

"No, it don't," Jack gave his own little smile and sat down next to her.

She crawled over to him and took a seat on his lap, making it a little easier for him to keep a good hold on her. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she looked over at Liz and saw that she was examining her closely. When she noticed that Kat was looking at her she gave a smile and returned her attention back to Will.

Soon enough, Norrington and Harriet came into the room and shut the makeshift door behind them. The few candles that were lit around the room gave enough light to illuminate the room and everyone saw clearly. Norrington looked at Jack and Kat and gave a little scoff while finding his seat in the back of the room. Harriet found a seat closer to Jack and Kat and they stayed in silence for a few moments.

"So… is this the part where you all scold me and kick me out to die among the ruffians outside?" Norrington crossed his arms and looked over at Jack.

Jack chuckled a bit and shifted a bit to let Kat sit to the side of him and not on him, "As much as I would like tha' to 'appen, Norrington, I 'ave a few confessions of me own to get off me chest. Thin's tha' even Kat 'ere doesn't know 'bout."

At this Norrington leaned forward and studied Jack. Kat looked at Jack's face and squinted her eyes a little to register what he had just said. He hadn't told her something. That wasn't something that either of them liked to admit- or even do for that matter. They told each other everything. Even after Kat had killed her father, she still told Jack her whole back history, not leaving out a single detail. Now, something was untold when it really needed to be.

"I at one time had been part 'o The Harbinger's crew," Jack breathed and looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. The others looked at him with surprise while he stood up and began to pace the room once again, "Catterine… was a- I guess ye can say a reason fer me wantin' to become a pirate. He was a part of me port tha' I was from. Then he turned pirate and wanted a crew. I signed up as soon as he saw me old enough and I became a pirate too."

"There is something else I can thank him for," Norrington grumbled. Kat gave him a death glare from the other side of the room and mouthed a warning 'shut your mouth' before he settled back down.

Jack continued paying no attention to Norrington, "We were very close, Catterine and I. But then thins change and I get me own ship. I stole the Pearl from a rival pirate captain 'o Catterine's. I 'ad to kill him 'o course, then I took his ship with a few of the Harbinger's crew with me. Soon the Pearl became me own ship and Catterine and I parted ways. We kept in touch with letters and I began to get me own crew. Unfortunately, I didn't 'ave the common sense to pick a good first mate. Soon after establishin' meself I got another package from Catterine…"

Jack turned back to the others and showed them his black compass that led him to Isle de Muerta. Will stood up, but kept his eyes focused on the compass.

"Catterine knew about the gold," Will mumbled.

"And no doubt told his crew 'bout it. Includin' the new captain," Jack said letting another blow of air escape his lungs, "Apparently he saw a mutiny comin' when I didn't. All though, I 'ave always believed tha' he was trying to get me back. He was always jealous."

"Of what?" Norrington asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"I always 'ad the better luck with the ladies," Jack chuckled until he caught Kat's expression, "Er… sorry, luv."

"So they all knew about the gold," Kat started to think of the problem and pushed the punishment for Jack in the back of her mind for a moment, "Maybe they already knew where it was."

"Wha'?" Jack asked looking confused.

"Maybe Catterine _did_ want to get you back for something," Kat looked up at Jack and stood up, "They must have known about the curse. What if he planned it so that you would go after the gold and you would be cursed. You would live through a lifetime of punishment and never be the wiser to him."

"But wha' did he want to punish me fer?"

"The Pearl?" Kat offered.

"Wha' 'bout it?"

"Think about it, Jack. It was the ship of a rival captain. Imagine the hate that built in Catterine to know that you killed him and Catterine didn't get the chance. You took the ship- the prize- while he had to settle for the less extravagant Harbinger. Maybe it wasn't 'the women'. I think he wanted the Pearl for himself, and you took it from him."

Jack thought for a moment and looked at Kat again, "Tha' would explain the bad blood. After the curse was lifted he did everythin' in his power to destroy me. I always though' it was somethin' tha' Barbossa did."

"So now we have a bigger problem, Jack," Will spoke up, "These pirates knew about the curse and put it on themselves to get you back for killing Catterine."

"And probably for the Pearl," Elizabeth interjected, "They must have heard Catterine talk about it more than once."

Kat took an even breath and looked into one of the candles, "So the question is… How do we kill pirates who want to be cursed?"


	7. Baby Talk

**A/N:** Hey everybody! Is this soon enough for an update? I am truly sorry for taking so long last time, but I guess I just lost it. I was doing senior stuff for high school and I am now trying to get my college classes I need. Well, that's enough from me. Time to get on with the fic! Bring on the Captain!

**Chapter Seven**: Baby Talk

"Well, now we know why they're after you, Sparrow," Norrington commented as he stood up, "Now we must find a way to defeat them."

"You know as well as we all do that they can only be killed after they spill their blood and become mortal again," Will said exasperated.

The group was still sitting down with the exception of Norrington who was now starting to pace in the back of the room. Harriet looked at her hands, which were folded in her lap and kept quiet being the only one not completely filled in about the past history of the curse. Kat sat next to Jack and rubbed his back as he thought over the situation. Will and Liz both sat with empty stares as they thought about having to fight another cursed lot of pirates. Once in a lifetime was one too many times.

Norrington sighed, "If this meeting is over, I need to see to my injured."

He made a move to bow to each of the women in the room. Kat could see the venomous look Liz gave him from her side of the room and she could only imagine how bad her death stare looks at the moment. She turned to Harriet to find that she did not hold the same scowl or death glare as Kat thought she would. She looked strangely…content.

"Thank you, James," Harriet bowed her head as Norrington finally exited the room and headed toward his injured men. The others turned to look at her for a moment and then quickly to the object they were looking at before.

After a few minutes of silence Will finally spoke up, "This turns things around, doesn't Jack?"

"Wha's tha' Will?" Jack pulled his eyes from the ground.

"The first time they were after my blood to end the curse. Now they want you head for revenge and to keep the curse. Although, we have the advantage that this is a different crew," Will said with a slight chuckle.

"Aye, this be a different crew, but I wouldn't call it an advantage. This crew is vicious, I should know," Jack stood up with Kat's hand in his, "I'm retirin' to bed. I think ye should all do the same. It's been a long day."

Kat smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll be along shortly. I need a word with my cousin."

"Aye, don' be too late, luv," he smiled and left with Will beside him.

Kat turned toward Harriet, "Now, what was that with the new commodore?"

"What do you mean?" Harriet rolled her eyes.

"Do you remember that he is the cause of all this?" Kat stood with her hands on hips, "Why so friendly to the man who is responsible for you husband's death?"

"He has apologized to me personally. He is sorry, Kat. Why do you all keep rubbing one mistake in his face? We all have made one or another during our lifetime," Harriet stood up and began to walk to the door.

"None that has caused these many lives," Kat commented.

"No, yours just cost your mother and brothers," Harriet said harshly. Kat turned around and stared sharply at Harriet. She has never mentioned that event to her in over five years. And _never_ blamed her for it, "Goodnight, Katerina."

Kat watched with mouth agape as her cousin exited the room and went toward her room. She slowly slid back down into a sitting position next to the base of the wall. She started to hug herself and leaned her head back against the rock wall behind her. She didn't want to remember… she wouldn't allow herself to remember. The screaming. The calling of her name. The splitting of wood from the burning estate. The smell of smoke slowly immerged from her memory. She didn't want to remember.

Before long a small prick of pain began in her gut again and she let it pass. She clutched her stomach a little tighter and let the pain fade a little at a time. As she felt the pain fade to near nothing she began to get up, using the wall as a support.

"Slow down, Kat," Elizabeth put a hand on Kat's shoulder, pushing her back into a sitting position, "Don't push it."

Kat then noticed that Elizabeth had never left the room and was sitting there, waiting for her turn to talk with her. She heard everything that Harriet had said and yet she was concerned for her health instead of the issue with Harriet.

"Push it?" Kat asked a little out of breath, "What are you talking about?"

"Cramps?" Liz asked her, brushing back some of Kat's hair, "Is that what you really believe it is? The pains."

"What else would the pains be?"

"How long have you had them?" Liz knelt in front of Kat.

"The harsh pains started this morning," Kat said looking at Elizabeth with a questioning stare, "Why? What do you think is happening, Liz?"

"I didn't understand what the pains were either when I first had them. They actually scared the goodness out of me and I just had no idea," she then took a deep breath, "until I began to throw up in the mornings."

"You know what's happening?" Kat smiled a little, a bit of hope shining in her face.

"Everything you're going through is perfectly normal… when you're pregnant."

Kat's eyes grew enormous as the news flowed through her mind a few times. She put a hand over her lower stomach and tried to regain her breath. She now noticed a small bulge starting to show underneath her pants.

"Pre- pregnant?"

"Your body is just adjusting. I'm sorry to say you will probably be throwing up in the mornings more often than not," Elizabeth giggled.

"I guess that was to be expected," Kat smiled and looked up from her growing belly, "Can we be sure?"

"The physician was injured in the last attack, but they are pretty sure he will be on his feet and helping with the other injured in a few days. Then we can talk to him."

"Good."

"Ahem-"

Both women turned to their side to see Anamaria in the doorway, "Yes, Anamaria?"

"Sorry te interrupt, Kat," Anamaria scratched the side of her head, "But the problem of Charlie is still needin' te be discussed."

"Of course," Kat motioned for her to come in and watched her take a seat on the chair opposite her, "What's the matter with him?"

"Tha's jus' the problem," Anamaria looked at Elizabeth and then back at Kat, "Charlie be a she."

"What?"

"Aye. I found her tryin' te bind herself so no one would know. She did it te become part 'o the crew. She knew how bad women pirates be looked down on. An' the cap'n wouldn' hear of another female on board. But I don' know wha' te do now. I can't tell the cap'n. He'll probably boot 'er off fer jus' lyin' like tha'."

"Calm down, Ana," Kat said, "You told me. I'll try to find a way to tell Jack. Don't worry; Charlie will stay a part of this crew. She's been a great contribution and I doubt that Jack will want to let go of her work ethic."

"Aye," Anamaria nodded, but did not leave immediately following Kat's promise. Elizabeth looked at her, prompting her to continue with her thought, "I 'eard wha' ye said. Ye really think tha' she be with child, Elizabeth?"

"Only time will tell for sure," Elizabeth smiled at Kat again.

"Wha' should I be tellin' the crew?"

"Nothing yet," Kat said, "I want to be sure before anything seeps out. I also want Jack to hear it from me instead of Gibbs or even Cotton. You know he doesn't keep many things under wraps these days."

"Aye, the 'ol blabbermouth," Anamaria nodded and remembered how a parrot can tell a lot of things if you let it.

"I doubt that there is a high chance that you're not, Kat," Elizabeth mused, "You are showing the signs and I should know. I've been through it twice now."

"So no word te the crew or cap'n then," Anamaria nodded and started to the door, "Wha' should I tell Charlie 'bout her situation?"

"Tell her it will be taken care of and she is part of the crew. Nothing will change that."

"Aye, aye Kat," Anamaria left them to talk once again together.

"Are you sure, Liz? I mean, could you be wrong?" Kat started to go off on her ranting and worries.

"I don't think so, Katerina. Why are you so inclined to disbelieve?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be so negative. It is just that this day has been too full of surprises… and I don't know quite how to tell Jack."

"Why? Is he against-"

"Oh no. Nothing like that. We were actually talking about children the day Norrington told us about the attack. It'll just be a big change," Kat put her hand on her stomach again and smiled, "But I think it will be a good change."

Elizabeth smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "It'll be our little secret, along with Anamaria, of course."

Kat grinned and began to push off the rock, "Walk me to my room?"

"No problem," Elizabeth held on to one of Kat's arms and helped her to bed. She stopped her outside her room and continued down toward her and Will's room.

Kat took a breath and entered the room to find a few candles still lit and a sleeping Jack on the bed. He held one of his favorite rums in his right hand. Kat guessed that he probably got it off the Pearl before entering the Port. His right leg hung over the side of the bed with his boots still on. His head was to the side and he looked so peaceful. Kat tilted her head an smiled softly.

'Just couldn't wait up for me, huh?' she shut the makeshift door softly behind her and made her way over to the sleeping Jack. She pried the bottle of rum from his hand and placed it by a few bags they managed to take before the attack. She put his leg back up on the bed, took off his boots and his hat. She then took off her own boots and climbed into bed next to him. His breathing was rhythmic as usual and Kat needed the normality. She was tired of surprises. She just wanted peace again… well, as much peace she could have as a pirate.

Kat placed her arm over Jack's waist and laid her head on his chest. Soon enough his arm wound around her back and she heard a low grunt. Kat opened her eyes to see a small smile on his face. She sighed and closed her eyes as well with a smile on her face. She felt a reassuring hug on her back from Jack's arm and the touch let most of her thoughts float away. She felt relaxed, safe… she felt like she was home.

"Ye doin' all righ', luv?" Jack asked in a whisper and opened one of his eyes.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Kat looked up at his face.

"Well, once ye take a bottle 'o rum from me hand, and I wake up very fast," he repositioned himself where he was sitting up and let her lean on his chest, "Now wha's the problem?"

"Problem? Who said anything about a problem?"

"Ah, first point denial," he held up a finger and looked down at her head with a smug grin.

"To tell you the truth…" could she tell him now? Why not? He was fine with the idea of their children. But what will happen with the crew? What will change?

"Kat?"

"I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts for a moment," Kat said a little wispy.

"Is it somethin' tha' Harriet said to ye?"

Kat thought for a moment and then realized that Harriet did say something that had torn her pretty badly, "It might be part of it."

"Wha' 'appened?"

"She was defending him… Can you believe it?"

"Who?"

"Norrington. She was defending Norrington. The man who can be directly linked to the cause of her husband's death and she is _defending_ him. I just don't understand."

"Did she tell ye why?"

"She told me that he personally apologized to her, but that doesn't bring back Robert."

"And she probably realizes tha', luv," Kat looked up at Jack with a confused look on her face, "She realizes tha' no matter how long it takes fer her to get over Robert's death, she cannot blame Norrington all her life. One thing is because it ain't goin' to help. Nothin' is goin' to bring back Robert."

"You do have a point, and now I understand why she is so upset with me," Kat said and then began to whisper, "but it does not excuse what she said to me."

"Wha' did she say to ye?"

"It was my fault that my family was killed in the fire," she stared at her hand that was on top of Jack's chest.

"Wha?"

" Yes. Was she that upset to remind me?" Kat started to fade out of reality and back into the night so long ago.

"Remind ye of wha'? Ye weren't at fault, Kat."

"That's what I want to believe," Kat took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Can we please just stop talking about it now?"

Jack felt her grab tighter to him and closed his eyes as well, "All righ', luv. All righ'."

He kissed the top of her head and sunk back into the pillows, forgetting to blow out one of the candles at the side of the bed.

* * *

Jack stirred a little and felt the familiar pressure of Kat against his chest. He grinned a little and turned his head so his cheek would be in her hair. He breathed in the scent and wallowed in the feeling of her hair. Every morning he tried to remember a different part of her. Her hair, her breathing rhythm, her voice when she wakes up, her eyes when she first opens them… anything that he can grab a hold of. He would never tell her, but he wanted to know every part of her just in case he didn't have a chance to get back to her. Just in the event that something prevented him from coming back to her…like death. If the unthinkable actually happened he would have the thought of her in his mind. She would be his last thought.

His thoughts were disrupted as Kat began to shift beside him, usually signaling that she was waking up. He opened his eyes to see her chocolate eyes staring up at him. A smile immediately was on her face and he lightly brushed through her hair.

"Mornin', luv," he kissed her forehead and turned on his side, "How are ye doin'?"

"Better," Kat breathed and closed her eyes as she scooted closer to him, "I just don't want to face the day just yet. Let me sleep the rest of my life away."

"Now where would the fun in tha' be?" he chuckled and looked at the small candle that was still flickering at the side of the bed, "I'm guessin' ye forgot to put out the candle."

"Probably," Kat sighed and opened her eyes, but kept her gaze away from Jack's.

"Wha's wrong, Kat? There's somethin' else, ain't there?" Jack asked noticing her reluctance to talk about anything.

"I… I think tha-" suddenly she covered her mouth and rolled out of the bed.

"Kat?" Jack grew worried as she ran to an adjoining room and found a place to vomit. He immediately got out of bed and found Kat doubled over a hole that was to be used as a 'waste compartment'. Kat saw what was left of what she ate at Olivia's party in the small hole. Then a strong hand began to rub against her back and everything stopped spinning. Everything started to calm down and she could see straight again.

"Wha's goin' on with ye Kat? I'm worried," Jack said placing his chin on her shoulder.

Kat hesitated a moment and leaned her head on Jack's, "Don't worry, it's normal."

"Normal? Luv, ye are-"

"Jack!" Will bursts through the door to their room and stumbles in.

"Will? Wha's goin' on?" Jack poked his head from the room with Kat.

"They got through the rock. They will find us in the matter of half a hour."

"Get everyone together and use yer other exit. We got to move," Will nodded and ran down to warn others. Jack turned back to Kat and picked her up from the floor, "Come on, luv. Let's get yer boots on and get out 'o 'ere."

Kat walked quickly hearing Will's announcement and helped to get the two bags together and her boots on.

"How did they get though?" she asked, sounding a little weak.

"Don' know, but we got to go. Ye okay to walk by yerself?"

"Of course," Kat slung a bag over her shoulder and began to stand up, only slumping back on the bed after her legs began to give a little beneath her.

Jack quickly put his boots and hat on then went over to her side and slung her arm over his shoulders. As he passed through the door, he grabbed the other bag and looked out into the main hall. The chaotic scene that was presented in front of him was nothing he'd ever seen before. Usually on the Pearl everyone is pretty calm, but this- everyone was panicking. Women rushed by with children in tow and men pushed from the back. Jack grabbed a hold of Kat's side tightly and tried to find his way to Will in the crowd. They both saw Will with Elizabeth and the children upfront waving to them. Both of them struggled through the rush and made it up to them.

"I don't know what happened. They just got through the rock…" Will stammered, "We're not ready to fight back. Too many are injured."

"What about the injured? Where are they?" Kat asked stroking Emily's hair with the hand closest to the little girl.

"Norrington and Harriet are in the front helping the injured and the children out first. They know the way," Elizabeth yelled over the crowd, which started to scream louder.

They bumped against the other survivors, which weren't many, but with the panic in their systems they can turn into a mad force. Jack and Will tried to calm others around them, but no one would listen very well to reason. Will gave Jessie over to Elizabeth and looked toward the back of the group.

"We got to help the back," he told Elizabeth and gave her and his children a small kiss. She nodded and watched him go back with a firearm in hand.

Jack turned his head toward Kat and unhooked her arm from around his shoulders. She started to shake her head and looked Jack in the eyes, "I know you aren't thinking about leaving me again, Jack."

"I'll be back," he kissed her on the lips to seal his promise, made sure his pistol and sword were at hand and left toward the back with Will.

Elizabeth grabs Kat's hand and tells her to grab Emily. Thankfully the pains had dulled enough to allow Kat the energy and strength to lift the two year old. After only a moment or two Kat begins to see light and the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, light doesn't always mean safety. As soon as Kat and Elizabeth stepped into the sunlight they were grabbed and shoved to one side with other women. The bright sun shone on the scene as pirates took the women from children and placed them in two different places. Both Emily and Jessie were torn from Elizabeth and Kat's arms and thrown toward the injured and the men. Norrington stood with the injured and little Olivia was balancing herself on her crutches at the side of his legs. Jessie and Emily ran toward Olivia since she was the only familiar face they found.

Harriet soon emerged from the other faces of the women and held Kat's arm, "They are going to take the women."

Kat looked at Harriet's face and tried not to show the sadness that still was present in her from last night's altercation and focused on the present, "What?"

"They're looking for you. They want the ultimate bait to lure Jack."

"My God, Jack!" Kat turned just in time to see Will and Jack lead the civilian men from the caverns. Pistols and daggers lifted to meet them and Kat could only watch with fear as Jack was put up as the main target.

"Well, if ain't _Cap'n_ Jack Sparrow," a tall, skinny looking pirate stepped up from the circle of pirates, "Didn' think ye'd see me again, did ye?"

Kat could only see bits and pieces of the pirate standing before Jack, but judging by the huge hat and elaborate clothing it was the new captain. The hat covered the face and although the voice was a little high, the captain had a menacing stance.

"Dornie," Jack looked at the pirate and seemed to growl the name.

"Ah, so ye do remember me," Dornie takes off the hat and reveals a smile. It was a woman underneath the pirate captain's identity. Dornie was a woman. Her smile broadened a bit right before she clenched her fist and punched Jack in the gut, "Good. I remember ye too, Jack."

Jack fell to the ground and Kat tried to run toward him, but was held back by a bigger pirate that she remembered well. It was the same on who held her on the Pearl over a year ago as Jack and Catterine talked. He still had the abnormally large arms, which didn't help Kat in her push to get to Jack. She watched as Dornie kicked Jack in the gut and saw him lift off the ground. Will tried to help, but was put back in his place by a pistol aimed straight for him.

"Stop it!" Kat cried from the bigger man's arms, "Don't you dare touch him again, Dornie! I swear if you do, I will serve your head on a golden platter to the sharks."

Dornie's head snapped in her direction and began to stomp toward Kat. Jack raised his head weakly and grabbed at his injuries.

"Kat… don'…"

Dornie stepped right up to Kat's face and looked her in the eyes. Kat showed defiance, stubborn will and a love she never saw before. She tilted her head to the side and without warning struck Kat hard across the face.

"Speakin' out of turn be prohibited 'ere, ma'am," she mused. Kat turned back to her as the man released her arms. She felt her cheek for a moment and then clenched her fist. She threw all her weight into one shot and punched Dornie right in the jaw. Dornie flew back into the dirt.

"Well, I hope that wasn't out of turn. I want that one to count," Kat cracked her knuckles and looked down at Dornie, "If you touch my husband again… I _will_ kill you."

Dornie wiped off the side of her mouth, stood up and nodded for the pirate to grab a hold of Kat once again, "Ye're hardly in a position to make threats… Mrs. Sparrow."

Suddenly Kat's world went black and everything faded into nothing.

"Dornie!" Jack made it to his feet, "Yer fight's with me."

"Aye, it be," she smiled, "But ye know wha' they say Sparrow. Ye always hurt the ones ye love. How 'bout we make this a bit more interestin'? We be takin' the women, ye keep the children. Ye want yer wives and their mothers back… follow me to where it all started. Or I can jus' take me vengeance on yer pretty lil wife. She seems like she be waitin' fer a fight."

"Ye touch her and yer dead," Jack growled.

"Why not, I'm half way there?" Dornie snickered and whistled for the pirates to come with her. She put her oversized hat back on and walked with the rest of the crew back to the Harbinger. The pirate holding Kat threw her unconscious form over his shoulder and followed closely behind Dornie. Jack took a step toward the retreating group of pirates, but Will held him back.

"Live to fight another day, Jack," he said through clenched teeth.

"Tha' day should be today," Jack struggled against him.

"How much help are you going to be to her dead?"

Jack clenched his eyes shut and dropped to his knees. He began to hit the ground with his fists as if his life depended on it.

"Damn her!" he cried to no one in particular, but screamed it just the same, "Damn that woman!" He soon settle into the dirt and was oblivious of the children trying to find their way to their fathers.

Jessie and Emily ran as fast as their little legs could carry them and ran straight into their father's arms. Jessie was the first one to speak, "Are we going to get mommy back, daddy?"

"I promise we will, Jessie," Will hugged his son and daughter tightly, "I promise."

Jack gritted his teeth together while he tried to piece together his thoughts. His eyes were receiving only blurred images through the tears. After only a few minutes after the Turner children found their father Jack heard a small voice above his head. He brought his head up from the dirt and saw a blurred version of two legs and two crutches in front of him.

"Uncle Jack?" Little Olivia was trying desperately to make sense of the situation. She saw the tears in his eyes and it frightened her to think of her strongest person crying. She put her crutches to one side and tried her best to kneel in front of Jack. She placed her small hands on either side of his head and kissed him lightly on the tip of the nose.

"That's so you feel better. Mommy and Kat always kiss to make better. I make Uncle Jack better?" she questioned.

Jack took a deep breath and smiled at the small child, "Aye, ye did."

He took her in his arms and let her settle into his embrace. He loved Olivia as his own and no matter the situation, it seemed she knew what to say. Her innocence made it possible and bearable to fight back.

Jack looked up from Olivia and saw Norrrington, Will and the other men stare at him for an answer. For the next step. Norrington was the first to comment.

"They disabled the Golden Eagle. She isn't seaworthy," it was strange. His voice… Norrington's voice was shaky. He was scared.

"Then we take the Pearl," Jack said looking up at him, "And we follow them."

"To your death?" Norrington watched as Jack stood back up with Olivia still in his arms.

"They 'ave me wife, Olivia's mother and Liz. I ain't goin' to run away. Even if it means me life," Jack turns from Norrington and heads toward the injured Mr. Gibbs, "Gibbs, signal the Pearl and round up the crew."

"Aye, sir," he saluted with the hand that wasn't on a crutch, "Except one thin' sir."

"Wha's tha'?"

"They took Anamaria and Charlie. We are three members short when we count Kat."

"Well, tha' means that Dornie will 'ave her hands full, won't she?"

"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs hobbled on his crutches toward the edge of a small cliff and whistled into the bay where a bell answered back, "They be ready fer us, Cap'n."

"Perfect," Jack looked down at Olivia in his arms, "Are ye ready to go and ride the Pearl as I promised ye?"

Olivia's eyes lit up, "Aye, aye, Uncle Jack!"

"Let's go get yer mum and Kat back."

**A/N**: Whatcha think? Review please!


	8. New Captain, New Rules, Same Monkey

**A/N**: Me again, there is going to be a lot of history in this chapter so try to keep track. And remember to review at the end! Thanks for all the reviews so far, I love you all! And if I could, I would give all of you a very special present, but I yet to receive my fortune. Enjoy!

**Chapter Eight:** New Captain, New Rules, Same Monkey

Kat rubbed her head as she came to and found a gigantic lump on the back of her head. Her fingers outlined the form making sure it wasn't just her imagination and that she did in fact have a huge mountain on the back of her head. Squinting in pain was not her first choice when waking up in the morning. Although after looking around at the room, she doubted that it was still morning or even daytime for that matter. While trying to piece together events, she remembered what had happened before she blacked out, but she also had bit and pieces while she went in and out of consciousness. Women were yelling for their children… Elizabeth was reaching for her as Anamaria and Charlie fight to keep other pirates from taking her away… faint candlelight… the swaying of the room and the smell of the sea. She was back on a ship.

She sat up slowly as not to agitate her head too much and not to recall her all too familiar stomach pains. Instead of being in the brig, where she thought she would end up, she found herself on a nice sized bed. It looked like the room had an elaborate set up, with great sized drapes and velvet almost everywhere… more than likely the captain's quarters. To her left there was a long table filled with fruit, wine and meat. The monstrous amount of food looked like it was going to overflow from the table and each clear pitcher was filled with a different kind of wine. On her right side she saw the huge windows covered in the dark red drapes, a set of chairs and the heavy doors, no doubt leading out to deck.

She began to rub her head to keep the room from spinning and to keep her stomach calm. Although, she had doubts that she had anything to throw up since she emptied her stomach before she was taken. She leaned her head back on the headboard and closed her eyes. Another fit of pains was starting again, and the pain in her head didn't help. She pushed her head back into the board thinking that if she made enough pain in her head, the pain coming from her stomach would subside.

"How did Harriet and Elizabeth get through this?" she managed to say through gritted teeth.

As she tried to get her bodily functions under control she felt the bed jump and opened her eyes just a bit. A thin ball of fur and a white face was staring back at her. Kat picked her head up and squinted as the pain started to recede and she could move a little better. The fur moved a bit and put a small hand out to touch her hand. She took another look and focused to find a monkey staring back at her.

"Well, who are you, then?"

The monkey tilted its head to the side and began to make small noises from its mouth. It grabbed a gold piece from beneath the small version of pirate clothes it was wearing and began to nibble on the outer rim. Kat noticed the skull imprinted in the center of the coin and thought back to Jack's stories of the curse.

'The cursed gold,' she though and leaned forward toward the monkey, ignoring the pain in her stomach. She examined the monkey and the little trinket it held in its paws.

"Now where did you get that?" Kat asked trying to reach for the gold coin.

"We foun' him with the treasure," Dornie walked slowly through the door and shut it lightly behind her, "He was cursed when we foun' him among the pieces."

Kat leaned back toward the headboard and threw the covers and blankets off her legs. She moved to put her legs over the side and began to walk toward the table filled with food. She eyed Dornie from the other side of the bed and then shifted her eyes from the doors to her bag that was sitting only a few feet away. She had a dagger and a loaded pistol in the bag that may prove useful, but if Dornie and her crew can't die… just how useful would they be?

"Go ahead, Katerina. Get yer weapons. They won' help any and do ye no good," Dornie teased and sat in one of the chairs Kat had noticed earlier, "But I do love te see a struggle fer survival."

The monkey looked over at Dornie and ran over to her. It climbed up the chair's leg and stopped to perch on Dornie's shoulder. Dornie smiled and petted the monkey under the chin and stoked the top of its head, "I see ye've met Jack the monkey. An' I don' mean yer husband. We foun' his name etched into another piece of his clothing. I think he's a good resemblance to Sparrow. Not to mention tha' he is very affectionate."

Kat glared at her from over by the food table and tried to think. She looked over at Dornie and found her to be as slender woman with dark brown hair that was cut just above her shoulders and relatively clean and well kept. Her green eyes shown from beneath her huge hat and her silk black shirt told Kat she wanted and got the best. Her black pants only went to her knees where they met with her shining boots. This assemble was way too elaborate- and surprisingly clean- to be worn by anyone but the captain. This was the only confirming Kat's earlier assumption of her occupation upon the ship. Although, even with her elaborate room and clothing, Kat couldn't see any compassion or any hint that this was an actual human being sitting in front of her.

Dornie took another deep breath and decided to try again, "I think ye still be upset with me fer knockin' ye out cold an' draggin' ye on board. Am I close?"

"You forgot to mention your obsession in trying to kill my husband," Kat said simply, eyeing Dornie as Kat sat on the only unoccupied space on the table. She noticed another Aztec gold piece hanging around Dornie's neck from a thin gold chain.

"A small oversight," Dornie chuckled and leaned forward to see that, surprisingly, Kat didn't lean away from her. She could have sworn that she was actually leaning _toward_ her, "Ye ain't scared 'o me?"

"Not much, if at all, Captain," Kat stared back into the female captain's eyes.

"An' ye notice tha' I be the cap'n. Ye be a smart one," she smiled and played around with the gold piece around her neck, "Not the kind tha' Jack usually goes fer- much less marry. Wha' ye be doin' with Jack anyways?"

"How's that any of your business, captain? Or are you like Catterine in that as long as I am aboard this ship, all of my business is your business?"

"Such a vicious tongue! Ye be a Benikins? It be very surprisin'," Dornie pretended to be surprised and leaned back into her chair.

"How would you know anything about my- er, the Benikins family?"

"Wha'? It no longer by yer lineage?"

"I was never a part of that family," Kat replied, "So why does it matter?"

"It matters when we were the crew accused 'o killin' ye," Dornie's voice dropped to a monotone, "I foun' everythin' I could on ye. Foun' out ye assisted in the escape 'o one Jack Sparrow. An' then disappeared from yer own weddin' and sadly killed by the Harbinger crew… how unfortunate fer ye…"

"What's your point?" Kat asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know ye killed yer family. Mother… brothers- two 'o them if I remember righ'. How did it feel te murder loved ones? I wan' te know. I never got the chance te find out."

"I'm no murderer," Kat said in a flat tone, "It was an accident."

"Now come on," Dornie chuckled and leaned her elbows on her knees, "No death is an accident. Especially one tha' was caused by yer little fingers lightin'-"

"Why don't you skip to the point?" Kat turned sharply at Dornie and took a bite out of an apple that was sitting on the table, "I get tired of small talk very easily."

"This is nowhere near small talk, Kat. An' ye know it," Kat turned stiff and just looked at the apple in her hands as Dornie began her very own conversation, "It still bothers ye, don' it? At night… it's hard to sleep because 'o it, ain't it?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Kat shifted her focus to the drapes and fabric near the table she was sitting on, "You are talking nonsense."

"Am I now?" Dornie let a little chuckle reside in her voice, "It be nonsense tha' yer whole family be dead because of wha' ye did when ye were only five? Tell me, did yer mother scream as the flames licked at her skin and consume her body? Did she call out to ye?"

"That's enough!" Kat screamed and stood up from the table, "If you want to play mind tricks, fine. But just make sure that your opponent doesn't have something up their sleeve."

"An' I fail to see wha' ye 'ave up yer sleeve, Kat?"

"You underestimate me, Captain Dornie," Kat stared viciously into the woman's eyes, "I am stronger than what I appear. And one day very soon you will learn that the hard way."

Dornie laughed, "I 'ave no fear 'o ye, Kat. If tha', indeed, is wha' yer tryin' te play at."

"That's only because you have a curse to hide behind," Kat said calmly sitting back up on the table, "If you weren't immortal, I would have my day with you. And know it or not that day will come very soon."

"I am not very happy with empty threats aboard this vessel."

"Who said anything about my threat's being empty?" Kat took another bite out of the apple and looked back at Dornie, "Now why don't we get to business?"

"All righ'," Dornie took a swig of some rum she had in a canteen hidden by the sash around her waist, "I wan' yer husband dead, but tha' ye already know. Jack an' I 'ad an'… altercation a while back an' let's jus' say tha' both Catterine an' I wan' revenge on the bilge rat."

"Uh-huh," Kat took another bite of the apple and threw a glance at Dornie, "And what 'altercation' would that be?"

"He betrayed this crew an' this ship," Dornie said harshly, "An' even worse… he betrayed me."

"How?" Kat asked clearly, feeling no remorse for the woman.

"The Black Pearl be a fine ship," Dornie stood up and began to pace the room.

"I'll agree with you there. She is the finest in the Caribbean," Kat said a bit proudly.

"Did ye know it was to be Catterine's?" Dornie turned toward Kat, "Jack was suppose te help get the Pearl, but he was not te keep her. Catterine was te be her cap'n. Not tha' mongrel."

"Mind you to watch your mouth. He is my husband," Kat put the half eaten apple on the table, "And I had my suspicions that that was the case, but Jack did kill the captain and won the Black Pearl fairly."

"Jack wasn' alone tha' nigh'," Dornie sneered, "He 'ad his 'luv' with him tha' nigh' helpin' him. Me."

"Jack would never have been that blind to a woman like you."

"He ne'er told ye 'bout me?" she smiled, "Well, Jack 'asn't changed tha' much. Still secrets galore, aye?"

"He has told me he has had other 'relationships', but he would have the sense not to fall for someone like you."

"He didn't when he was seventeen … still a boy," Dornie whispered, lost in her memories, "A young joker with a impressionable mind… and heart. He was on the Harbinger only a year when we decided te go a little further into our 'relationship'. I was jus' like him, but I was lucky te meet Catterine before someone took advantage 'o me."

"Maybe you still were taken advantage of," Kat said trying to steer toward Catterine.

"Aye, I was. Jack… I did fall fer him… hard," Dornie focused on Kat, "Then he betrayed Catterine and I."

"How?"

"Tha' nigh', everythin' changed. We 'ad it all planned out. Jack would go in and kill the cap'n. I would get the Black Pearl ready for sailing, an' we would be off te the Harbinger. But he came out after killin' the cap'n… and offered me te come straigh' an' come with him on the Pearl. The Pearl belonged te Catterine, tha's wha' we agreed. He changed the plans, but I wasn' goin' te go along with him. He was on his own."

"He worked for it," Kat said disrupting Dornie's thoughts and memories, "All Catterine did was have the enemy. Jack and you decided to end the rivalry and get the ship. That ship rightfully belongs to Jack."

"It belongs to Catterine," Dornie hissed and continued, "Last year he then killed Catterine savin' ye. I know, I was there te see him fall on the deck. Jack's bullet lodged in his chest. Ne'er 'ave I been so enraged, ne'er filled with so much hate. Now, I will get me revenge, Catterine was a father te me an' now he's gone. Jack is goin' te get wha' he deserves."

"And you think that I am going to help you kill him? I very much doubt it."

"Oh, I _know_ ye are goin' te help me because he will follow ye te the ends of the Earth. He will do anythin' fer ye. Even die."

"You have killed hundreds of innocents to get his attention, why do you need me to get him to follow you?"

"He isn' goin' te follow me… he's goin' te follow ye," she snickered, "He will follow ye with no other though' than yer safety runnin' through his head. He loves ye te no end. Much more than he ever loved me. I see it in his eyes. His struggle. An' by the way, killin' those 'innocents' weren't te grab his attention. Tha' was fer fun."

Kat looked at Dornie with mouth agape and eyes wide. Visions of Robert fighting to protect his family and his home flashed in her head. She saw the cutlass stab though his body and through the door with Harriet on the other side. The screams filled her head, the tears from Harriet's eyes could be seen streaking down her cheek and the sickening noise of the metal plunging through flesh was almost overpowering. Anger boiled through her veins as she continued to stare at this… monster.

"Ye don' expect me te believe tha' ye though' those people were innocent, do ye?"

"Women and children? Yes, I do."

"Every person 'as a hand in the big picture, Kat," Dornie started to walk toward Kat, "Ye get more 'o the competition out 'o the way, an' there be more fer ye in the end. No one be an innocent in a life like this."

"And you have the audacity to call me a murderer. You're a monster," Kat commented as she watched her come closer, "What about the code? The pirate code? It states that no innocent civilian shall be harmed unless they are tampering in plundering, looting or escape."

"Tha' be yer code," Dornie pointed at her and then looked at he apple that Kat was eating on.

"My code? It is the same code!"

"Different code fer different ships," she said and began to feed Jack some of the apple Kat left over, "I 'ave me own code to abide by. Ye 'ave yers."

"By the way you're talking, I'll be dead by the end of this. Why don't you kill me now? Just tell Jack I am still aboard."

"No, he'll wan' te see yer safe. I wan' him te die where it all began. Isle De Muerta. His blood will be the first to spill. But he won' come if ye aren't there."

"I won't let you take my husband from me," Kat stood tall in front of Dornie, "I'd rather die first."

Dornie raised an eyebrow at the woman, "Ye'd be doin' it by yer own hands because I won' be killin' ye."

"Why don't you?"

"The only 'innocents' I don' kill, Mrs. Sparrow, be the ones tha' are not yet born. I am surprised tha' ye are riskin' yer child's life like ye are."

Kat's eyes grew for a second time. Dornie knew that she was pregnant with Jack's child. How could Dornie know when Kat wasn't even completely certain? No one but Elizabeth, Anamaria and herself even knew of the possibility. Suddenly more pains began to plague Kat as she struggled to find footing.

"How… how did you know?"

"Other than the pain ye be showin'?" Dornie tried to look smart, "Ye know, it be strange… the more ye be in this cursed state, the more ye be in tuned te the livin'. More specifically the lives tha' are jus' beginnin'. I can feel the life inside ye growin'. It may be faint, but it be there. Tha's why I spared a woman in Port Royal. She was with child. A child should ne'er be judged by their parent's doin's."

"You would kill fathers, but not mothers?"

"Exactly," she put a finger up as it she was thinking, "I believe at one home I killed the man and I knew where the wife be because 'o the child she was carryin'. She hid behind the same wall I skewered the man through."

Kat made the connection instantly. Dornie was the one who killed Robert and broke Olivia's leg. She was responsible for Robert's death, and now Olivia has to grow up with him. Because Dornie wanted to have some 'fun'.

"We should be comin' to the isle in a day or two. In the meantime, ye can talk with yer cousin and yer two crewmates down in the brig. 'Ere, I'll help ye," Dornie offered her hand. Kat slapped it away causing Jack the monkey to jump away toward the food table. Kat walked out of the cabin, grabbing her bag on the way. Two men grabbed her arms once she reached outside and dragged her toward the brig.

"Suit yerself, Kat," Dornie looked at the apple one the table and chucked it across the room, smashing it into the wall on the other side.

* * *

Once thrown back in with the other women, Kat saw Anamaria and Charlie come toward her. She held up a hand to tell them to sit back down. Elizabeth and Harriet watched her cross the surprisingly large brig to the far wall. Kat leaned back against the wall and slid down, gripping her sides.

'I can't do it,' she closed her eyes and her brow furrowed, 'I can't fight and risk my baby's life. Oh, Jack… what can I do to protect you? I need you so much right now. Tell me it is going to be all right. Please…'

Slowly she began to softly sing the only song that came to mind, "We exhort, we pilfer, we filch and sack, drink up me hearties yo ho…"

**A/N**: So what do you think? It gives a little history on Dornie's anger. The next chapter is going to give a little more history, so if you are confused, hopefully the next chapter will shine some light on it. Love you all, and review!


	9. Young Love Doesn't Always Work

A/N: This whole chapter was supposed to be the ending of the last one, but I decided just to have two chapters of history. It really helps in the explanation. Anyway, I hope everybody liked the last chapter, because I am adding this next chapter now! Woo Hoo! Writing block is gone! Thank goodness. And be sure to read the ending author's note, it may have some news that you all will like. ;) Enjoy!

**Chapter Nine:** Young Love Doesn't Always Work

"Maurade and embezzle and even high-jack, drink up me hearties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life fer me," Jack mumbled as he leaned on the railing of the Pearl.

He stared off into the night waters, thinking about how gruesome it must be for Kat to see the living skeletons walking around the deck. He remembered facing Barbossa in the cavern and how bad he looked. Shredded clothing and rotting skin hanging off the many bones are not great things to look at. Although, he had to smile to himself thinking that Kat might just shrug at the sight and walk herself down to the brig to comfort the other women screaming their heads off. She just had that kind of spirit, and he knew that more than likely Harriet will be one of the screaming women.

He looked over the far horizon watching the sun dip beneath the waves. He didn't have to worry about where the Black Pearl was heading since Gibbs took over the helm. He gave his first mate the bearings and left the steering to Gibbs. But then, he left all his worrying for his wife and the condition she was taken in. She was vomiting every morning now and the pains were getting serious. What could be wrong with her?

"Why'd she 'ave to take ye, Kat?" Jack asked watching the waves crash underneath the ship.

"She's the most important thing to you, that's why Dornie took her," Will walked next to him an leaned on the railing next to him, "The sun went down. You should be getting some rest, Jack."

"So should ye, Tuner," Jack said looking for anything to look at other than Will as he knew that the whelp would get him to go to bed eventually, "Do ye wan' to kill her?"

"Who?"

"Dornie," Jack still growled the name and involuntarily touched the small bruise left behind on his cheek, "She's goin' to kill them all."

"What?"

"Dornie will kill all the women after she's done with me, and more than likely all of ye as well. The only ones she won't kill be the women with child and small children. And tha's if she be gracious."

"You mean the women who are pregnant?" Will asked.

"Aye," Jack breathed and looked at Will, "She will stop at nothin' to get wha' she wan's. Even if it means killin' innocents."

"What's her story, Jack?" Will asked, turning to face Jack better, "What exactly happened to her?"

"Tha's a long story, Will," Jack's face turned stiff, along with most of his body, "A very long story."

"And neither of us are willing to succumb to sleep, so we have all night," Will did a gesture with his hands to elaborate his point, "I doubt that either one of us are getting a lot of sleep tonight."

"All righ', Turner," Jack sighed and pushed off the railing and began to walk down the deck, "Walk with me."

"So how did it all start?" Will asked beside Jack after catching up.

"With Catterine," Jack said simply.

"I meant, how it all start with Dornie," William tried to steer Jack back on track.

"It started with Catterine," Jack said again and took a breath, "Angelina Dornie joined the Harbinger crew a few months earlier than I did, even though she was 'bout a year younger than I was. Apparently she and Catterine 'ad connections with one another and Catterine 'ad become somewha' 'o a father figure to Angelina. 'Magine how much more she hated me when I killed him."

"Why was she made at you to begin with?"

"She felt like I betrayed her," Jack looked at Will and quickly turned away, "Her plan wasn't somethin' I was goin' to follow if she was goin' to kill me in the end 'o it."

"Kill you?"

"We'll get to tha'," Jack chuckled nervously and started to take on a slower pace down the deck, "To tell ye the truth- apart from Kat- Dornie be the only woman I never dared to lie to or betray."

"You were in love with her, weren't you?" Will asked a little taken back.

"Aye," Jack nodded, "Young luv, I guess ye can call it. I was seventeen years old and she was sixteen. But she 'ad the mind and charm to trick and grown man. Tha's where she 'as her downfall. She didn't know the meanin' of the word monotony, she probably still don'. Bein' the man tha' I am, I won her over, o' course. Then she began to make a big plan. Catterine 'ad a rival pirate captain… with a grand ship, the Black Pearl. Every one 'ad their eyes on her and the captain knew it. Her plan would be to kill the captain and take the ship, but I didn' know she 'ad an alternative plan too. She wanted to give the Pearl to Catterine, even tough he did no work for it. And she wanted to give it to him _alone_."

"You would be the odd man out."

"I would be the dead man out," Jack took a sigh, "Remember wha' I told ye 'bout six years ago? 'Bout wha' a man can do-"

"And what a man can't do. Yes, I remember," Will chuckled, "I can't really forget that I was also held over the ocean, hanging by mere will power while you lectured me about it."

"Well, I guess it is the same with women. She foun' me weakness and she was goin' to use it. Although, she didn' know tha' I would see her one nigh' in a tavern sittin' in the lap of a known killer. After 'our' plan was played out, he would come from the shadows and kill me in turn. She would take the Pearl and be the apple 'o Catterine's eye. Although, she was already there, but I was competition."

"Competition?"

"Aye. Catterine 'ad started to teach me the trade. I begged him to fer as long as I can remember when I was younger. He taugh' me many tricks 'o the trade, includin' the door trick. I guess she saw it tha' she be the one that was out. Tha' she was being pushed aside while Catterine taugh' me all he knew to make me a better pirate all around."

"So she decided to kill you for it?"

"Tha's the way the ball bounces, Turner. The one left on the captain's good side gets the ship and the crew after he goes," Jack smirked, "Although I don' 'ave to really worry 'bout tha'. Kat will take me place when I go… if we get to her fast enough."

Will saw his face fall and Jack's eyes focused on the dark wood beneath them, "So what did happen that night? The night the rival captain died?"

"I killed him as planned," he looked at Will who had a slight surprised look on his face, "Don' be so surprised, Will. Ye've must 'ave known tha' I 'ave killed before."

"Yeah, I just never really…"

"Well, forget explanations. I was 'bout eighteen when I killed him, I was tryin' to prove meself. I was stupid, although not as stupid as Angelina would 'ave liked. I went in after he became drunk, killed him and came back out. He wasn' able to figh' back, and I always felt a bit guilty fer it. The 'hired help' tha' she got was there, and was trying to surprise me with a cutlass in the gut. Unfortunately fer him, I was naturally pretty skilled at sword play. I cut him down before he even got to me."

"And Angelina?" Will asked propping up against the wall that connected the helm to the lower deck.

Jack stopped and leaned on the railing opposite Will, "I told her I knew, and I gave her one more shot to go straigh'. I was willin' to give her another chance; to give the first luv 'o me life a chance. Bad mistake. She took out a small dagger and tried to slash at me with it. I grabbed her wrist, spun her toward me and made her drop the dagger. I remember tellin' her, 'I learned tha' from Catterine, too.' She jumped from me arms and swore tha' the Pearl was rightfully his and wouldn't leave Catterine's side, and I sailed off on the Black Pearl with some of the original Harbinger crew- yer father was actually one 'o them. She was left behind with Catterine, tellin' him lies 'bout me, even though I tried to write him 'bout wha' really happened. I tried to forget her and the experience, but apparently Catterine took her word over mine."

"But never told you that in the letters, did he?"

"Never," Jack grumbled, "I though' nothin' more 'o the incident or 'o possible bad blood since Catterine was sending me letters and eventually the compass with a promise 'o more treasure. All 'ell broke lose after tha'."

"Did she love you?"

Jack looked up from the deck at Will, and was sure that there was surprise written all over his face. The question was out of no where and Will knew it, but might as well try to ascertain all the facts at once, right? Gets it all out of the system and… out in the open.

"I think at one point she did, but it broke as soon as she saw the attention shift from Catterine."

"How long were you on Catterine's ship before you went for the Pearl?"

"Jus' 'bout a year. I was seventeen when I boarded and eighteen when I got the Pearl," he patted the dark banister he was leaning on, "Righ' after I stepped on board the Harbinger, it seemed like she 'ad a hold 'o me and I couldn' help meself."

"Yes, a woman's influence is strong," Will chuckled to himself remembering Elizabeth and some of her reminders about what to say and not to say in front of the children.

"Indeed," Jack smiled and turned back toward the ocean and the almost calming waves.

"You're worried."

"It be tha' obvious?" Jack breathed out some air that he was keeping in, "Righ' before she was taken… Kat seemed sick."

"Why would you say that?" Will leaned on the railing next to Jack.

"She 'ad pains, that I know aren't jus' from her cramps. I've been through enough 'o her monthly cycles to understand wha' those be like," he heard Will give a small chuckle of agreement, "She is beginnin' to throw up every mornin'. Everythin' in her system seems to want to jump from her stomach."

After Will didn't answer for a few moments Jack turned to him to find him with a small grin growing larger each second, "Wha' ye be so happy 'bout?"

"Jack, I doubt that you're ready for the news I'm about to tell you," Will put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"By the way yer smilin', I take it she's not dyin'," Jack said a little apprehensively.

"No, it's all normal," Will kept his grin as he looked over the waves, keeping Jack on his toes.

"Why do people keep tellin' me it be normal? She was throwin' up everythin'. First Kat tells me it be normal and then runs off to the sink, and now ye be tellin' me it be normal. Now are ye now goin' to go runnin' off towards the nearest sink or go over the edge?"

"Calm down, Jack," Will patted his shoulder and looked Jack in the eyes, "It's normal for women to vomit and have pains when they are _pregnant_."

Jack stopped in his tracks and stood frozen. Did Will just say what he thought he said? Could Kat really be… with child?

"You're going to be a father," Will kept the now humongous grin on his face.

"Excuse me, mate?" Jack managed to get through.

"I've seen it all before with Elizabeth when she was carrying Jessie and Emily," Will turned back to the waves.

Jack blinked a couple of times to let the news settle in his mind and started toward his cabin. His feet were not working as well as he thought they would, and almost looked like he was completely drunk once more.

"Jack, where do you think you're heading to?" Will said once finding that the pirate captain wasn't at his side anymore.

Jack turned around, leaning to one side a little bit more than the other, "I need some rum."

"Why?"

"One… I need to calm meself down after the news tha' ye jus' dropped in me lap, and two… I wan' to celebrate. Ye comin' or not Turner?"

Will followed closely behind Jack as they made their way to Jack's cabin just in case the news made an impulse in Jack's brain that did make him drunk and Will wanted to be there to catch him before he went over the side.

Once Jack and Will filled themselves with rum –which in all honesty was mostly Jack- and sleeping some of it off Jack woke up with a knock on his doors. He went to the doors, stumbling all the way until he reached them. He opened them to find a very bushed looking Norrington staring back at him. Jack leaned back a little at the picture, but tried to maintain his erect posture.

"Wha' ye wan', Norrington?" Jack mumbled.

Norrington held up Olivia who was leaning against his legs and placed her in Jack's arms, "She will not go to sleep without you. I have tried everything that I can think of, yet she will not go to sleep. She wants you. And by the way, tell Turner that his two are calling for him."

"Aye," Jack nodded and watched Norrington leave toward a cabin near Kat's old room. He notice a huge blotch of ink covering the seat of Norrington's sleeping attire and looked down smiling at the small four year old, "Ye do all the tricks I gave ye?"

"All of them!" she gave her own mischievous grin and hugged him around the neck, "I doubt that he has noticed the ink chair though."

Jack chuckled a little and watched her as she gave a giant yawn, "Well, good job or not, luv, it looks like we both need our beauty rest," Jack held Olivia up with one arm and turned to Will, poking him in the head to grab his attention and wake up, "Yer kids are callin'."

Will yawned and walked toward Kat's old room where Jack placed the Turners, "Aye, aye captain."

After Will left, Jack shut the door to his cabin and placed Olivia gently on the bed. She immediately crawled over to the top of the bed where she tried to burrow herself into a couple of the pillows. She wore a small nightgown that came to her mid-shin in a light cream color. As Jack took off his boots, hat and jacket and laid them down on the desk at the side of the room he saw Olivia put her hands together and bow her head, since she couldn't bend both her legs.

"Dear lord," she began with closed eyes and tried to softly say her prayers to herself, "Take care of mommy, Jessie's mommy and Kitty Kat. They are very special to me and Jessie and Emily. We miss them very much. Give Uncle Jack something extra special so he can find them and bring them back."

Jack smiled at Olivia's prayers and let her continue as he unhooked his pistol and cutlass from around his waist and put them both to the side of the bed, still just in reach, just in case.

"Oh! And before I forget… give my daddy a hug and tell him that I love him very much and miss him even more. Thank you from Olivia. Amen," she crawled under the bedding and put her head back on the pillow she was on earlier. Jack looked at her in a curious way and then laid down next to the small girl and let out another breath of air. He only remembered praying once, he was around Olivia's age, but when it didn't come true, he decided not to try for anymore favors.

"Uncle Jack, you're breath is really stinky," Olivia said scrunching her nose up after smelling his rum covered breath.

He smiled at the little girl and tried not to laugh, "Well, I'll try not to breathe on ye too much then."

He blew out the candles by the side of his bed and let the moonlight come through the windows and illuminate the room and he closed his eyes. After only a few moments he felt Olivia move close to him and bury her face in his chest. He looked down at her with a confused look on his face, looked to either side of the room and then smiled. He closed his eyes again and began to smooth her hair under his hand and held her back with the other. He wondered if he would ever get the chance to do this with his own son or daughter. If Angelina Dornie had anything to do with it, he will be long dead before he sees his child's birth. He kissed Olivia on the top of her head as she finally stopped moving and got settled.

"Love you, Uncle Jack," she said in a whisper as sleep started to overtake her.

"Luv ye too, Olivia," he smiled.

"Will we get mommy and Kitty Kat back soon?" she asked as she drifted further into sleep.

Jack thought for a moment and took a deep breath, "Let me and Will worry 'bout tha' now. Go to sleep, now. Ye've 'ad a long day."

He soon heard measured rhythmic breaths from the small girl and pushed his head back into his pillows. Then he decided to do something that he hasn't done for the longest time. He squeezed his eyes and took a gulp of air.

'I know I 'aven't been the best 'bout actually contactin' ye. I wouldn' know where to begin,' Jack began to pray, 'Please jus' look out fer Elizabeth and Harriet, make sure they make it back. Olivia needs her mother- and face it, Will is lost without Liz. Above everythin' else, take care 'o Kat and our child. It may sound greedy 'o me, but I don' care. I wan' her safe from harm. I wan' her happy. I wan' her back in my arms. I wan' her to know, no matter wha', I will always be with her. Now, wha' was I suppose to say at the end 'o this. Aye, Amen.'

With that done, he finally fell back into a deep sleep, letting the darkness overcome him.

A/N: I know that was a really off the wall chapter, but I had to include it. I don't know how happy some of you will be, but I was reading through my first POTC fic and decided to do a _**third**_ installment. Some characters will be there, when others will not, so don't too excited. I have a rough sketch on what I want to do, but it's not in stone yet. I'll ask you for some of your opinions as this fiction comes to a close, but I thought I might want to give you a heads up.

Anyway, what did you really think of this chapter. Please give me details, I love to hear back from you guys. R&R, thanks!


	10. We Desperatly Need A PLan

A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed so far! I love you all. Well, I am stuck on my other fiction, and my thoughts are flowing freely on this one, so I might as well keep going on this, right? I guess part of it is that I really want to get to the third installment, but can't start that until this one is done, now can I? Well, here is chapter ten, I hope you like!

**Chapter 10:** We Desperately Need A Plan

Several days have passed, and Jack could start to feel the affects of them. Every morning he would find that Kat's space was empty or was partially filled with Olivia laying right beside him. She now made it a ritual to embarrass Norrington with one of the tricks Jack taught her and then run to Jack's cabin to go to bed. Either way, he wasn't very used to the idea of the vast space where Kat used to sleep next to him. This morning he didn't want to open his eyes, but slid his hand over the empty spot where she used to sleep and the empty space was surprisingly warm and he had to open his eyes. A small white bow was lying on the pillow and a smile started to appear on Jack's face. He sat up on one of his elbows and looked around the room.

"Olivia?" Jack called out into the room and looked around.

He didn't get an answer for a few seconds and he slung his feet over the side of the bed. She must have gotten up earlier and found the Turner children to play with. She did that now every once in a while in the mornings. Jack rubbed his head and headed from the ceramic basin that Kat had put in after they were married. He splashed his face a few times and then started to look around for some cleaner clothes than what he had on. The clothes that he was now occupying were so bad, that he could barely handle them, and defiantly needed to be washed. He found another light brown t-shirt and some dark brown pants with his black boots on over them.

It was probably going to be a long day. According to his calculations, they would be at the isle in half a day, tops. He got his hat off from the side of a table and placed it on his head, ready to actually do some sailing today. As he opened the door he was tackled back toward his room by Jessie and Emily. They laughed loudly as Jack fell back into one of his chairs. He chuckled with them and looked toward the door looking for Olivia to come hobbling in.

"'Ey now," Jack smiled at Jessie, "Where be Olivia, eh?"

"Guess who?" two little hands clasped around Jack from behind and Olivia smiled from beside Jack.

"And where 'ave ye been?" Jack reached behind him, pulled her over one shoulder to make sure that he didn't hurt her leg and placed her in his lap, "I wake up and yer no where in sigh'."

"I was hiding!" Olivia smiled and hugged Jack around the neck, "I wanted to surprise you!"

"Ye sure did tha'," Jack smiled, "Now wha' are ye children doin' today?"

"Going on lan'?" Emily asked tugging on Jack's shirt sleeve.

"On land?" Jack asked and looked down at her.

"Yes, Gibbs found land this morning and he docked on the far side of the island," Jessie explained. It was strange to Jack, because the four year old had such a big vocabulary and had a knack for finding out what's really happening around him. Nothing seemed to get past the elder Turner sibling.

"We can't be there already," Jack carefully put Olivia at the side of the chair where she was able to balance on the arm and walked over to his huge windows. He opened up the drapes and looked over the island in front of his ship, "Isle De Muerta."

"Is that were mommy and Kat are, Uncle Jack?" Olivia hobbled to Jack's side finally able to reach her crutches.

"Aye," he looked at the children and tried to put on a smile, "Why don' ye go down to the cabins and play with some 'o the wooden swords, eh?"

"Okay, but I get to play Captain Jack!" Olivia shouted as she tried to run out of the room on her crutches. Jessie and Emily followed her closely, each of them laughing loudly.

Jack grabbed the compass from his dresser and put on his jacket. He wanted to know why he wasn't informed and how long they have been docked for. He walked out on deck to find the new crew members and soldiers staring in awe at the island. Will stood by the wheel by Mr. Gibbs and saw Jack emerging from his cabin. He walked down and walked right up to Jack.

"And no one told me tha' we got to the island because?" Jack asked a little annoyed.

"We just docked and you were still alseep," Will offered for an explanation.

"Tha' be no excuse, Turner," Jack looked at the shore and took his compass from his pocket and opened it, "Well, do we know if the Harbinger 'as docked 'ere yet?"

"The Harbinger is just on the other side of the island."

"So is Dornie," Jack said and closed the compass, "I need only a few men to come with me to find the women."

'What about Dornie and the crew? They will be looking out for us," Will reminded Jack, "Especially you."

"We will 'ave to steer clear 'o them as much as we can. I wan' ye and Norrington to come with me to shore," Jack looked up at the wheel where Gibbs was looking over some maps, "Gibbs!"

"Aye, Cap'n?" Gibbs looked up from his maps.

"Stay aboard and watch the kids," Jack said, "Mr. Turner, Norrington and I will go to shore with a few men. Keep alert, there is no doub' tha' Dornie be lookin' fer us."

"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs sauluted and went back scrutinizing the maps and papers in front of him.

"Daddy!" Jessie ran toward Will and jumped into his arms, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get your mother back," Will hugged him back and put him back on the deck, "Stay on board with Mr. Gibbs."

"But I want to rescue mommy too," Jessie said triumphantly, brandishing his little wooden sword.

"Jessie-"Will began, but Jack stopped him before he continued.

"Ye 'ave to stay aboard and protect the Pearl," Jack said kneeling in front of Jessie, "I don' know no one better to take care 'o me ship while I be gone. Can ye do tha' fer me, Jessie?"

"You can count on me!" Jessie nodded and ran up to the wheel where Gibbs finally plotted another course for escape if need be.

"Thank you, Jack," Will said softly.

"Now let's get Norrington and find our wives," Jack turned to Will and smiled, "We've made them wait too long, and ye know how dangerous tha' can turn out to be."

Will smiled back and followed Jack to the side of the ship with Norrington in tow.

* * *

Kat looked at the other women in the brig. Some had scowls on their faces and looked at Kat, Anamaria and Charlie with distaste, most likely because they knew their occupations. Ana and Charlie sat a few feet away from Kat playing with some cards that they found and snuck off the Pearl. So far, Charlie was winning every game and Anamaria was becoming even further frustrated. Harriet sat the closest to Kat with Elizabeth just on the other side. She was fumbling with her hands in her lap again which usually meant that she had something on her mind. Kat seemed to remember the brig of the Harbinger being much smaller. Although, the last time she was there she was stuck in a small cell in the corner, which was still there. She watched the huge door to the brig as it opened and closed every once in a while to give stale bread and some semi-fresh water to the women.

Her mind couldn't concentrate on the time and situation they were in at that moment. Her mind was still focused on her conversation with Dornie and how she planned to kill Jack. Kat still had no idea on how she was going to save him while being stuck in the brig. She had to think of a way out, of an escape. If she didn't she knew that Jack would be there in a few days, if not less, and Dornie will get what she wants. Jack dead. And Kat could not handle that. She needed Jack now more than ever. He had the right to see his child born and to be there as it grows as well.

"Kat?" Harriet's voice penetrated Kat's thoughts, "What's wrong? You seemed distracted."

"Decided to talk to me on civil terms, eh?" Kat asked Harriet with a raised eyebrow.

"I am sorry for what I said earlier," Harriet lowered her head, "It was unprovoked and I really didn't mean it. You know that right?"

"What about defending Norrington? You mean to do that?"

"What is so wrong about James?" Harriet asked exasperated, "He made a mistake. We all have."

"Nothing this huge," Elizabeth joined into the conversation, "He made the choice not only to ignore Jack, but Will as well. This is where it has led us."

"James is a good man," Harriet stood up and looked down at Kat and Elizabeth, "Please… stop blaming him, I have."

"If I didn't know any better, Harriet," Kat started to stand up and began to talk in a teasing manner, "I would say you were fond of Norrington."

"Don't be ridiculous Katerina," Harriet said looking toward the brig walls, "You are imagining things."

"That's what I told you about running into pirates," Kat smiled and hugged Harriet from behind, "I'm sorry, I just… just wish this never happened. But blaming Norrington or anyone else isn't going to help any."

Harriet turned around and looked at Kat, "Thank you for understanding. I miss Robert, and I always will carry his memory with me, but I cannot place blame. Not forever."

Both women hugged one another and Elizabeth coughed, "Not to interrupt, but I think we have some company, Kat."

Kat looked toward the huge brig doors and saw two, burly looking pirates step into the dark under hull of the ship. They both looked at each one of the women from the doorway and scrutinized each one of them for something. The bigger of the two stepped further inside the brig and took a breath before he started to mumble to himself. Harriet sat back down behind Kat as the man looked over toward their side of the brig. Anamaria and Charlie came over and Charlie took a seat next to Elizabeth, the only one of the two women sitting that knew she really was a she. Anamaria came up to Kat and stood right beside her, looking at the other pirates.

"Wha' ye think they're doin, Kat?" Anamaria whispered keeping her eyes locked on the two men.

"They're looking for something," Kat watched as the two men stepped into the brig and passed by so many women, looking at each one of them, "Dornie said something about knowing when a woman was pregnant or not, by feeling the presence of the unborn child. Maybe that is what they are looking for."

"Why would they do tha'?"

"To find out who would be the best for being the first victim," Kat looked at Anamaria, "She won't kill women who are with children. Knowing most of the survivors, there is a good chance that most of these women are. That's a bad sign for women who are not."

"Wha' did she say 'bout ye?" Anamaria nodded and looked at Kat's face which shifted back to the pirates.

"Well, let's just say when we get back to the Black Pearl, there will be another celebration."

"Ye mean if we get back," Anamaria said drolly.

"No, I mean when. I have faith in Jack and the crew. They will pull through; I just hope it is before anyone has to die."

Suddenly the two pirate men stopped in the middle of the huge brig and started to yell an announcement to all the women, "We 'ave orders te take all ye outside te a more… 'spacious accommodations'. Now, any 'o ye tha' wan' te struggle will 'ave te take it up with the cap'n. Let's move out, now."

The two men made the women get into one line, one pirate at the front and one at the back. Kat helped Harriet and Charlie, making sure that both were close to her in the line. Anamaria and Elizabeth followed closely after them. The pirates put them into a makeshift holding pin out on shore that looked actually pretty easy to get out of, but Kat will have to wait to see how many pirate guards there will be before she could make an escape plan. She looked over her shoulder to Anamaria who looked like she was thinking about the same thing. They gave each other a small smirk as they both put their minds to work.

The two pirates pushed the women into the makeshift holding pin and blocked the doorway. Kat looked back at the two and realized that they were still looking over the women, searching for who was with child and who was not. Kat looked over and found Anamaria knocking on the side of some of the walls, looking for weak points no doubt.

"Anamaria," Kat called to her, "They are still looking, I think they have no idea what they are looking for. They seem confused."

"Mus' be," Anamaria shook her head in shame, "The Harbinger crew was ne'er one to be bragged 'bout when it came to brains."

"Right," Kat nodded her head and looked back at the two pirates and saw that one of them was starting to head to the middle of the holding room, "Now what are they up to?"

"Alrigh', ladies!" the pirate in the middle of the room shouted, "We be needin' te know somethin' from ye. I need all the women with child te raise their 'and."

Kat knew what they were doing. They couldn't find out for themselves who was pregnant, so they tried to get the women to tell for them. Kat went over to Elizabeth, Harriet and Charlie, where Harriet already had her hand raised. Kat looked back at the pirate, who hasn't yet scanned this side of the holding pin.

"Elizabeth, raise your hand," Kat instructed her.

"Why? I am not-"

"Maybe you're not, but if they find out that you aren't then you will possibly be the first one to die. So put up your arm," Kat said little more harshly then she needed to. She then looked at Charlie, "Charlie, try to stay behind us and hide yourself. You are way too young to be pregnant."

"Aye, ma'am," Charlie nodded her head and hid behind Harriet and Elizabeth.

"Charlie's a girl?" Harriet asked a little surprised.

"Shh!" Kat said as the pirate went over and looked at the group. Kat stood near the others with her hand down and looked back at the pirate with hatred.

"Tha' means ye raise yer 'and too, Mrs. Sparrow," the pirate called out to her and Kat gently, but slowly rose her hand from her side, "We needs everybody to be honest."

Harriet looked over at Kat and looked her over a little more closely. It was true, she thought that Kat was gaining a little weight, but didn't mention anything to her. Could the ruffian be telling the truth?

"Kat, you're…?" Harriet asked softly as the pirate passed them over.

Kat looked into her eyes and nodded just a little and turned front again. Now Harriet knew, and she would be watching her every sparing moment she had. She was a great big sister in that way, and Kat appreciated it most of the time, but she didn't want to give Harriet the idea that just because she was now pregnant, that she needed to be treated any different. She was still going to do everything in her power to help Jack and the other women, but at the same time protect herself and the baby that was now growing inside of her.

The pirate in the center of the room suddenly jumped down from the box he was standing on and went back over to his partner under the doorway. True, there were only a few hands raised, but there were only a few more women that were actually survivors of the initial attack on Port Royal. The one that made all the shouting began pointing to different sections of the room and to different women in the room, including Anamaria.

"I don' like how this is goin', Kat," Anamaria said with a little apprehensiveness in her voice.

"Neither do I," Kat looked at the women that didn't raise their hands and they were looking toward her, no longer with distain, but with the hope that she had a plan, "They are going to take two women out of here now, probably to send a message to Jack as soon as he comes to dock. And it won't be pretty. The only thing stopping them from picking any one of us is that Dornie will not kill unborn children."

"Aw. So the crew mates have to figure out who is eligible, eh?"

"Exactly."

"Wha' can we do?"

"Nothing come to mind. You?"

"I 'ave somethin', but I don' know if ye be up for it," Anamaria looked at Kat and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"How long do ye think they've been out on the sea without some 'company'?" Anamaria raised her eyebrow and moved her eyes toward the two men. Kat caught on quickly.

"Very long," Kat turned to the men and then to Harriet, "Harriet, I want you to promise that you will never repeat or tell anyone about what you are about to see. Especially Jack. Do you understand?"

Harriet nodded and Kat and Anamaria began to get ready for some terrific acting.

The two men, closed the door behind them and began to proceed into the room, one came straight up to Anamaria and grabbed a hold of her arm. Before Anamaria could even get a word out, Charlie leapt from behind Elizabeth and bit the guy on the arm. Anamaria fell back from the man and Charlie ran over to her side, yelling at the man in front of him.

"Ye leave 'er alone! Understand?" Charlie yelled at the big man.

He looked at the fading teeth marks on his arm and began to chuckle. He turned to the other pirate and called him over. The other man dropped the woman he was planning to take and walked over to him. Kat looked past him to the woman who was just dropped on the floor. It was her good friend, Athena. Apparently she had the money, but never was able to give a child. It was actually much better that way. At least a child wouldn't be born to a woman who still had no concept of love.

"Looks like I 'ave a volunteer te go on the wall," one of them said and picked up Charlie by the back of her collar. She began to kick and punch with all her might, but it didn't do her really any good. She was caught and now she was going to pay for the small bite she tried to inflict.

"No!" Kat said in a pleading voice, half of it a real plea- after all it was one of her crew members, "Please let her go. She is only a child," Kat half closed her eyes and touched the man's arm lightly.

"Aye," Anamaria stood up and walked slowly over to the other pirate standing close by, "I though' ye boys were goin' to take me instead."

The men looked at the two women and traded a lustful look to one another, "I guess we could make arrangements."

"I surely hope so," Kat said, trying to sound seductive and not so much disgusted as she felt. The one man let go of Charlie and let her drop to the ground. Charlie scooted over to Liz and Harriet and clung on to them.

"Wha' do they think they're doin'?" Charlie asked a little terrified.

"They're going to give us time to try and get out of here," Elizabeth smiled, "Just stay down and let them work. They know what they're doing."

"I thought you told me that nothing could fill their lustful desires when they are under the curse," Harriet whispered to Liz remembering the tales that Elizabeth told her while Jessie and Olivia played with each other.

"I did, but I doubt that they know that," Elizabeth watched as the two pirates led Kat and Anamaria out of the holding pin.

As they left, Elizabeth saw a slight glint of what she thought was a knife conveniently stored in the side of Anamaria's boot. Once outside the two women were escorted to different places on the shore, and could now longer plot with one another. Anamaria gave Kat a knowing wink when she left, giving Kat some confidence about the plan. As they neared the edge of the shore which was partially covered with sand, the pirate began to take off his vest and nodding to Kat to do the same.

Kat shook her head and sat down on a rock to the far side of the shore, "I don't know if you are man enough for me, now that I think about it."

"Oh well, ye will 'ave to deal with it," the pirate said reaching for her and squeezing down on both of her arms making sure she saw his face, "Because ye can't figh' back."

"What makes you so sure?" Kat gritted her teeth, but tried to be defiant toward his advances.

"Because I can't die. Which means ye can do whatever ye think is goin' te help ye, but yer goin' te go no where," he put his mouth right next to her ear and whispered again, "I can't die."

"Yeah, but it will take a while fer ye te piece yer head back together, mate," the pirate lifted his head toward the voice and in a spit second his head exploded to many little pieces, some falling into the water nearby.

The shot's echo stayed with Kat for a moment even after the pirate dropped her to the sand and the body fell struggling to find the pieces of its head. Kat found it a bit disturbing, but all the more lucky for her. There was more smoke than what she remembered being fired from a pistol, but it was also being shot from pretty close range. She slowly looked up at the person who saved her through the smoke and found Jack lowering his pistol to his sash around his waist.

"Ye all righ', luv?" he smirked and knelt down toward Kat, becoming eye level.

She gave him a half smile, because with all the emotion that she had going on, she could manage a full one, "Just fine-"

She cut herself off as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face underneath his chin. Holding him tight, she could feel the tears begin to flow down her cheeks and land more than likely on his jacket.

"You shouldn't have come, Jack. She's going to know. She's going to kill you," Kat began to sob into his jacket, "I'm not going to lose you again! I could have found a way to free them, free us! Why did you have to come?"

"To find ye, 'o course," he looked down at her and lifted her chin to get some eye contact, "No one takes me wife and gets away with it."

"But Dornie-"

"Will never know we're 'ere if we do this righ'," Jack smiled and kissed the tears off of her face, "Now, where be Anamaria and Liz?"

"Anamaria!" Kat looked over Jack's shoulder and down the beach, "She was also taken-"

Before she could explain she heard a screech come up from down the shore a bit. After a few seconds Anamaria came sauntering up cleaning up her knife and putting it back in her boot. Kat and Jack look at her a little strange as she smiles back at them.

"Well, good te see yer 'ere, Jack."

"Anamaria, what happened to the other pirate?" Kat asked, letting Jack help her up.

"Well, I taught him that it was never nice to touch without permission," she smiled wickedly.

"Meaning?" Kat urged her on.

"I cut off his hands and feet and threw them into the bay. It's goin' to be very hard fer him to get those back," she shrugged her shoulders and began to walk back toward the holding pin.

Kat and Jack looked at each other and gave nervous grins to one another, "Luv, remind me never to borrow from Anamaria again."

"No problem," Kat said a little out of breath and guided Jack toward the other women.

A/N: He he, stupid pirate. Well, I hope you liked this chapter, I was al little in and out of it, but it's there and a little longer than what I thought it would be. Next chapter may be a little "if"y, but I'll get right on it. Until next chapter!


	11. There Be Several Kinds of Sick

A/N: And so here comes the eleventh chapter! Wee! I've been writing like mad, I finished chapter ten just the day before I started on this one, but I have decided to type some chapters in advance so that I wouldn't have to worry. Now that the plot for the next installment is coming clearer, I want to type like crazy on this one, and refine the other one. It's going to be very interesting. I am very excited about it. Now, if I could only find a title. I'll think of it… enjoy the eleventh chapter!

**Chapter 11**: There Be Several Kinds of Sick

"How did you find us?" Kat asked Jack as he began to walk back with her and Anamaria toward the other women.

"I think I be gettin' a sixth sense fer ye, luv," Jack smiled and looked around the shore, "I actually heard ye and the other women struggle in the line they 'ad ye in."

"Ah, were we that loud?" Kat asked trying to put an innocent tone to her voice and put a finger up to her lips as if she was thinking.

"Yes ye were. But no one could cover the noise tha' was comin' from yer 'ol classmate, Athena," Jack looked toward Anamaria who was walking ahead of them.

"Aye," Anamaria turned to the two walking behind her, "I wanted to do all 'o us a favor an' shut her up meself."

"That won't be necessary," Kat put her hand up and looked at the door, "Now, Anamaria, do you remember which side the lock was on?"

"I believe it was righ' in the middle," Anamaria tried to remember the lock placement on the door.

"All righ', then," Jack took out his pistol and shot in the middle of the door, making sure that the shot was at a low angle so he wouldn't accidentally fire into the women on the other side, "Good guess, Anamaria."

The door swung open and a few glances came over to now open doors, thinking there were going to be pirates on the other side. Charlie came running up to Anamaria and jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. She laughed as she found that Anamaria and Kat were unharmed and could only go on about how they must have disposed of the pirates. Charlie looked at Jack and nodded her head, not quite sure if he knew the truth about her, and then went straight back to Anamaria, hugging her around the neck.

"It seems as the boy be gettin' pretty attracted to Anamaria, eh?" Jack smirked whispering to Kat while looking back at the two on the ground.

Kat tried to suppress her giggles and slightly covered her mouth, "Love, that wouldn't be very possible."

"Why not?"

"I'll explain later," Kat waved her hand and turned away from the confused Jack to find Liz and Harriet.

They walked further into the one room holding pin and found a group of women in a semi-circle, watching something quiet interesting. Kat walked over hearing some angry voices and some tearing of some material. She pushed through the small semi-circle of women and found Harriet and Athena in the middle of it. Harriet held a scowl on her face and a ripped sleeve on her right arm. Athena stood across from her and held her own indignant look upon her face, and her arms crossed in front of her breast.

"You know I'm right about her, Harriet," Athena said in a teasing voice, "She won't be coming back. She found another pirate to run off with and will only join another crew and betray us all!"

"You take that back, you witch! Katerina would never leave us like that! She would never leave Jack!" Harriet started to take a few steps toward Athena and started to see the fear grow in the woman's face. Before she could take her fourth step, someone caught her arm and she couldn't move forward anymore. She began to struggle with the hand that had a firm grip on her arm.

"Harriet, calm down. She isn't worth it," Kat said slowly pulling her out of her rage. Harriet turned to her with a surprised expression and gave her a hug.

"My God, are you okay?" she held her cousin at arm's length, "The ruffian didn't hurt or touch you, did he?"

"Fortunately, Jack got to me in time," Kat looked behind her to find Jack looking over the situation, "And the man was nothing to be worried about."

"Yeah, I bet you could have handled him real well, huh Benikins?" Athena threw over at the two of them, "You seem to have a way with pirates."

Kat stepped away from Harriet a bit and walked up to Athena, "Look, I don't care if you say things behind my back or to my face, but don't bring my family into this. Don't even think about doing it again, or I will personally give you a motive not to do it again… Strenen."

Athena sneered at Kat and watched her walk back over to Harriet and Jack, "Jack, where are the rest of the men you brought with you? I know there has to be other men because you wouldn't dare to go by yourself and I think everyone is ready to get out of here."

"Will and Norrington are jus' waitin' fer me signal," he smiled, "But I doub' tha' there be any trouble in them findin' their way 'ere. I though' tha' Dornie would know better than to hide this in such an open place."

"Well, let's just hope she will have a few more little slip ups, huh?" Kat smiled and walked to the middle of the room, "I don't know about you ladies, but I am ready to get back home. Back to family."

The other women begin to file out the door of the holding pin and Kat watched as more and more of the women raced to get out of the door. Some pushed at the ones ahead, hoping to get out as fast as they could or before another pirate came walking around the corner. Athena was one of the last women to get out the door and before exiting she folded her arms in front of her chest and stared at Kat and Jack. She had the most unreadable face when she looked at Kat, and Kat just wasn't in the mood for another one of her out bursts.

"What now, Athena?" Kat put her hands on her hips and stared down at her old polishing schoolmate.

Athena tried to divert her eyes anywhere other than Kat or Jack's faces, "I just wanted to say… Thank you for actually coming back. I truly believed that you left all of us behind."

Both Kat and Jack's eyes bugged out a bit as she said the two single words that they thought they would never hear from Athena's 'high stature'. They stared at her unbelievingly and she shook her head and walked out of the structure with two surprised pirates standing behind her.

"Well, I never thought I would ever hear something like that from her," Kat said coming out of being stunned.

"Aye," Jack nodded, "She be as stubborn as Norrington at times."

"Speaking of Norrington," Kat grabbed Jack's hand and led him out of the structure and out in the open, "Didn't I hear you say that he came with you and Will?"

"Along with a few other men," Jack nodded and looked down at her, "It was a bit strange, luv."

"Norrington? Yes, he is," Kat smirked.

"No, not tha'- although ye be absolutely righ'- but when ye all were taken Norrington seemed very… upset. An unusual act coming from Norrington. At least from wha' I've seen 'o him. He usually is quite calm, even when facing living skeletons."

"Upset?" Kat thought for a moment and then looked over at the ridge of one of the rock formations surrounding the shore.

Two figures walked over the ridge with three others following them. Kat squinted against the early afternoon light and saw Will leading the men with Norrington in his uniform not that far behind. Will saw the group of women and began to half stumble, half run down the side of the rock formation, making his way down to his wife and to Jack. Norrington was still at the top of the rocks with the other men looking down at the group. As Kat watched him she realized that he just wasn't just looking at the group, he was looking at one specific person. He was looking at Harriet. Kat looked over at Harriet and found that she was also looking right at him, both trapped by one another's gaze.

Kat poked Jack with her elbow, "Jack, I don't think Norrington just apologized to Harriet. I think there is something else going on."

Jack looked at the captain at the top of the rocks and then at Harriet, "Aye, _tha's_ why he was so worried, then."

"This will need some getting used to," Kat shook her head and watched as Will and Elizabeth ran to each other and smothered each other in a hug. Kat and Jack let them have their moment, but also had to get them back to reality.

"Sorry to ruin the moment, mate," Jack said stepping over to them, "but we would like to get out 'o 'ere before Dornie knows we be 'ere."

"Rest assured, Jack," Will looked up from Elizabeth, "She's still a little fuming about her other situation right now."

"Other situation?" Kat asked.

"Let me show you," Will nodded and looked on the other side of the rocks, "We found her talking with some of her crew. Apparently you weren't the only reason they cursed themselves."

"Well, this I got to see this fer meself," Jack smiled and turned to where Norrington and the three other men finally made their way down the rocks.

"Norrington," Jack walked over to him before the commodore even reached the group of women and a waiting Harriet, "I wan' ye to take the three men and the women back to the Pearl, aye? I need to take Will, Kat and Liz with me to see wha' dear Dornie is up to."

"I'm coming too. Before you make your argument, I need to tell you it is my duty to find out any criminal activity –other than yours-" Jack cocked an eyebrow at him and let him finish his little spill, "And make sure I can do everything in my power to stop it from preceding any further. That means that I have to be there to find her misdoings and anything else she has in store for the people of Port Royal."

Jack still had his 'this guy is defiantly the strangest person I have every met' face on through the whole spill, but didn't hold it against Norrington. He wasn't going to leave his duty, his post. Which Jack was now starting to hold in high regard. He was trying to make things better, but Norrington will have to understand that it was going to take a lot of making up before he reaches his goal.

"Tha' means tha' the men will 'ave to walk on their own back to the Pearl with all the women, and I don' wan' them to be caugh' off guard if Dornie is actually waitin' fer us," Jack continued, shaking himself out of his other thoughts, "Yer the only one tha' I wan' to lead them back. I doub' tha' the other women 'ave ever sailed on the ship before, and let's face it, most 'o me crew mates 'ave never been very good with women, mate."

"I'll take them back, Jack," Harriet stepped toward them and stopped a foot away. Norrington and Jack both turned to face Harriet, the somewhat timid mother had her hands folded in front of her and her shoulders square to the front.

"Harriet, I-"

"You owe me one for clearing your name, Captain Jack Sparrow, so don't give me any of the talk about how it would be too dangerous for a woman," Harriet tilted her head a bit to the side, "Besides, James has a point. He does need to be aware of what is happening if he is to make a report, conveniently leaving you and the Black Pearl clean of any blame. Who knows, you may even be rewarded for you valiant efforts. Although, this will only happen if you let James get down all the facts clearly and to the point."

Jack stood there as dumbfounded as Norrington standing beside him. The two men looked at one another and then back at the woman. She put her hands on her hips and let out an exasperated sigh, waiting for an answer.

"Well gentlemen, are we doing this or not? Even though I would love to stand here and watch you two try and comprehend, I would like to get off this bloody rock."

"Aye Harriet," Jack finally sighed and nodded, "Fine, ye take the women and the three crew members back to the Pearl. And make sure ye keep tha' Anamaria watchin' the boys from the ship, savvy?"

"Yes, Captain," she nodded and watched Jack walking over to Anamaria to give her the update and what to tell the rest of the crew and men aboard the Black Pearl.

Harriet turned to Norrington and was going to say something, but was then caught off by Kat coming up to the pair and placed her hands on her cousin's shoulders, "You pulled the law knowledge out again, didn't you?"

"Law knowledge?" Norrington inquired.

"Yes, didn't you know?" Kat asked looking over her cousin's shoulder at the commodore, "She is very well educated about the law of the land. That's probably how she got Jack's named cleared in the first place. I told you Dena's lessons would keep us sharp. And she always taught us, up to her death."

"I thought I was the one always telling you to keep up with the lessons," Harriet said in a teasing voice.

"Was it?" Kat put a finger to her lips as if she was thinking, "Why, I do believe you're right. Another point for my dear cousin."

"You are certainly cheerful," Harriet laughed a bit at her cousin.

"Let's just say I have a good feeling that all of _this_," she looked over at Norrington for a spilt second before looking at Harriet again, "Will work all out."

Kat started to walk away from the two after readily embarrassing Harriet, but swiftly turned around to face them, "And, uh, Norrington?"

He picked his head up and looked at her, "Yes, Mrs. Sparrow?"

"You're forgiven," Kat said a little softer and smiled, heading over to her husband.

"Thank you," Norrington mumbled to himself and turned back to Harriet, "Well, you never told me that you had knowledge about law."

"I guess we never got to it," Harriet tried to hide her slight blush from Kat's nice, little comment, "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, James."

"Well then, we must find a time after we get off this island to catch up," he took off his hat and bowed, kissing her hand. He soon turned and walked toward the pirate captain and the rest of the group that was heading toward Dornie's discussion.

Meanwhile, Kat came up behind Harriet with her hands behind her back and a smart smirk on her face, looking at Jack, "So she told you about the reward, huh?"

Jack turned around from telling Anamaria about the plan and looked at her, "Ye knew she was goin' to try it."

"Of course," Kat smiled bigger, "She was always better at me in the subjects pertaining law."

"And wha' do ye excel in, may I ask?"

"I would say I was always more socially inept," Kat kissed him on the cheek then turned his head over toward Norrington and Harriet just in time to see Norrington kiss her hand, "but I think she is catching up."

"Aye," Jack blinked a couple of times to get the scene out of his head, "And ye were righ', luv."

"About what?"

"It _will_ get a bit 'o gettin' used to," he called Will and Liz over as they began to talk about sneaking in on Dornie's conversation. Norrington soon joined in and they watched the group of women and three crewmembers climb the rocks toward the Black Pearl, with Harriet, Anamaria and the crewmembers in the front.

"Al righ', Will," Jack looked at him, "So where be Dornie?"

"She is in the cavern just a few dozen feet away," Will nodded his head over his right shoulder, "Norrington and I came across an opening looking down into it while we were trying to keep up with you. And guess where it overlooks."

"The Gold," Jack nodded, "Let's go see wha' she be up to."

After a few minutes the group of five were looking into the cavern, with a perfect view of Dornie with what had to be her first mate. He was the same one that is always fated to end up holding Kat back, the one with the unusually long arms. The group tried not to cast any shadows down into the cavern, which proved difficult since there was only so much space around the hole. After a bit of quite conversation the group decided that Norrington and Jack would watch the scene while the other three listened near by.

"Look! I wan' him dead! Tha's all I need in me life te die a happy woman!" Dornie kicked some of the other gold artifacts around her feet, "I didn't put this curse on meself jus' te wait 'ere while he slowly comes! How long does it take him? I wan' him dead, an' I wan' him dead now!"

"Cap'n, we 'ave got te be patient," her first mate replied rolling his eyes, he didn't seem as afraid of her as the rest of the crew, "He will come fer her."

"Tha's another thin'," Dornie sat down on the half opened stone chest and leaned on one of her arms, while illustrating with the other, "Wha' does he see in her? I mean, she 'as figh', I'll give her tha'. But she don' 'ave the righ'… the righ'… spirit te be a pirate. I mean she grew up on land fer cryin' out loud!"

"I'll give you pirate," Kat grumbled softly to herself and looked at the hole where Dornie's voice was coming from.

"I think ye still hold an 'ol flame fer Jack," the first mate mumbled.

Right before them Dornie pulled a dagger from her boot and leaned toward the man, holding the dagger relatively close to the man's throat, "Say tha' te me again, an' I migh' jus' 'ave te find me a new first mate, Stilin."

"Aye," he said not really flinching from her threat. She leaned back and put the dagger back in her boot.

"Anyways, wha' was the point 'o cursin' ourselves if we 'ave te wait forever fer Sparra' te get 'ere?"

"We didn' jus' curse ourselves te get Sparrow back, Cap'n. Yes, it was a bonus, but ye know wha' we really did it fer."

"I know," Dornie zoned a bit on the far wall, "Nassau will ne'er be the same. And neither will Adina."

Kat suddenly felt another pain shoot through her system and she closed her eyes. It stopped as suddenly as it started and she saw that Elizabeth was looking at her. Kat could tell that Liz was whispering something to her, but she couldn't hear her. She closed her eyes again as another wave hit her and when she opened her eyes again she was in a white hall. There were rooms to either side of her, it reminded her of a hospice or something like it. Something was off at this one though. All the rooms were full of children. As young as infants to as old as ten years old. They were all crying from pain, and Kat saw markings on their face and arms. Nurses ran from everyway trying to get the medicine for different children. They didn't even seem to notice her.

She listened as they began to converse with one another, although their voices seemed muffled, like they were far away, 'Another one died in room five. A two year old.'

'Why is it affecting them? Why only the children?'

"Kat?" Kat was pulled back to reality as Elizabeth pushed on her arm and the pain disappeared, "What's wrong?"

"A virus," Kat said loud enough for Jack to hear.

"Wha' do ye think started tha', cap'n?"

"I don' know, but who ever or wha' ever started tha' plague will 'ave te answer me before it is through," Dornie paused for a moment, "The sickness may 'ave gotten te me daughter, but it ain't getting' me crew."

Jack turned from the hole to Kat where she looked up at him with a scared expression on her face. How did she know that? She shrugged her shoulders as well as she could and Jack listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Ye know it be spreddin', righ' Cap'n? All the ports tha' we've been to seemed te 'ave been hit. Kingston-"

Kat got another pain and another picture of while halls and more children were sick.

"Barbados-"

Another wave hit her and she saw a smaller room, filled to near capacity of children. Some of them already have stopped breathing, yet are kept in the beds just the same.

"And Anguila-"

The last pain was harder than the rest and Kat had to clench her teeth to keep from screaming. More children were being piled outside the houses. All of the were dead, while only a few are still able to walk around, and most of them had the same scab markings as the others.

"They be all hit with the same virus, but no one know tha' much 'bout it. It be like they be blockin' the rest 'o the world out. It be like, we got out 'o there jus' in time."

Kat was taken from her pain when she felt two hands clench either side of her arms and started to shake her lightly, "Kat, luv?"

Kat opened her eyes slightly, and looked into Jack's eyes, "Bad dream."

Jack swiped some of her hair off of her forehead and found that she was covered in sweat. She began to cringe a little more as the pain started to settle, but still sent pains up and down her body every few seconds. He picked her up in his arms and turned to the other three in the group.

"Let's get back to the Pearl, we got enough information," Jack said quickly and began to walk back toward the Black Pearl, "Kat needs some real medical attention."

"Some really big words, Jack," Kat tried to smile at Jack from his arms.

"Ye be quite, luv," he hushed her as they spotted the Pearl, "We'll get ye home an' to bed and 'ave a doctor take a look at ye."

"It's okay… I…" Kat slowly closed her eyes and fainted in his arms.

"Let's pick up the pace," Jack called back to the others behind him. He heard no argument and made it to the Black Pearl with no real time passing at all.

A few hours later, Kat woke up and found the familiar surroundings of the captain's cabin aboard the Black Pearl. She looked over at the side of the room and found Jack standing by one of his huge windows looking out at the sea. Apparently they had left the island and all ready set sail. He had his hat off and he was in his pondering position, that Kat loved so much. He only did it when there was a big problem, or when he was really worried. She found a cold piece of material on her forehead and must have figured that she was sweating or had a fever.

She sat up in bed and cleared her throat, getting Jack's attention away from the window and down to her again. He walked over to her bedside and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning back against the headboard as she was doing.

"Ye gave me quite scare there, luv," he said quietly putting some of her hair behind her ear.

"Did the physician all ready come to see me?" Kat asked put her arms around Jack's midsection and resting her head on his chest.

"No, the blighter from Port Royal wasn' on board. Although as soon as ye got away from the isle, ye seemed to do much better," he put his hand on her back and rubbed her back, "Even though ye seemed to get better, I still worry 'bout ye. Keep in mind tha' I worry immensely 'bout ye, savvy?"

"Worry noted," she smiled repeating the same thing he told her a while back. She began to get drowsy again and laid back down in the bed, "Come lay with me."

Jack didn't argue he took off his jacket and climbed in the other side of the bed and laid down beside her, curving along her back. She turned over so that her face was facing him with her eyes closed and snuggled up between his chin and the top of his chest. She began to feel the darkness of sleep coming until she felt Jack take a breath and begin to ask a question. She just wasn't expecting it.

"When were ye goin' to tell me tha' I was goin' to be a father?"

A/N: Dun, dun ,dun! Now she will have to tell! Mwhaha! And you will have to wait. I'm sorry if those ports were not actual ports back then, but they are Caribbean cities. At least I did some research. Please review and I will post more! Love you all!


	12. Hard Facts

**A/N**: Hey, it was so weird the other night! For the first time, I got to go to a casino! I am now legal to gambol and I went. It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, but I saw one of my friends at the casino and we talked for a bit. It was cool. Plus, I grew by eight dollars! Woo hoo…

**Chapter 12**: Hard Facts

Kat's breath caught in her throat and her eyes flew open again. She stared at the section of his neck where she buried her head. She knew that he felt her stiffen at the question and that meant that she heard it. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes she pulled her face back to look up at Jack. When opening her eyes she saw Jack's relaxed face. He didn't look like he was angry or upset with her. He just wanted to genuinely know when she was going to tell him the news.

"How did you find out?" Kat said taking her time pronouncing every word.

Jack chuckled a bit and hugged her tight to him, making sure that her eye contact lost, "When we were on our way to get ye back from Dornie, I was talkin' to Will 'bout some thin's. I was worried 'bout ye because of the way ye were 'avin' the pains and throwin' up every mornin'. He told me his though's on the issue."

"You aren't angry with me for not telling you straight off?" Kat asked still pressed against him her voice muffling a bit from the material of Jack's shirt.

"Elizabeth told me tha' she 'ad givin' ye her suspicions, but ye weren't so sure. I could understand tha' ye didn' wan' to tell me until ye were absolutely sure," he paused for a moment, "Wha' makes ye sure now?"

"Who said I was sure?"

"Well, when ye say 'how did ye find out' it usually means there be a fact to be learned."

Kat pulled away from him again so she could look into his eyes, "Dornie told me."

"Wha'?" Jack's eyebrows finally furrowed and Kat saw some kind of emotion other than simple contentment, "How would she know anythin' 'bout it?"

"She told me that since she was in the cursed state, she felt the presence of living beings. More specifically, the ones that haven't started their lives yet," Kat absent-mindedly rubbed her lower stomach, "That's how she knew where Harriet was and didn't kill her."

"She knew-"

"She just didn't know where she was Jack…" Kat picked her head up and held a death glare saved for Dornie, "She's the one that came into their home that night and killed Robert."

"But Harriet said it be a man tha' killed Robert."

"She told us it was someone in dark clothing. Dornie wears nothing but dark colors," Kat started and tried to keep the hate from her voice, "She broke Olivia's leg and skewered Robert through the same door Harriet was hiding behind. She knew that Harriet was behind the door, but didn't even care. She didn't even have the decency to kill him away from the door. The only reason she saved Harriet and Olivia was because Harriet was with child."

"Do ye know fer sure tha' she killed him?"

"She openly admitted to it, Jack," Kat's voice raised a little bit, "She didn't know who it was, but she admitted to the act. Exactly how Harriet remembered it and told us. I wanted to kill her when she told me. So badly, I just wanted her to die."

Jack stroked the side of her face and kissed her forehead, "But ye didn't."

"That's because they put me in the brig before I could do anything," Kat took a calming breath and looked back at Jack, "To think that I learned the definite best news in my life from the most despicable person on the planet."

"It be over now, luv," Jack smiled and started to rub her back a bit, "And it still be the best news in the world."

Kat finally let a smile cross her features and kissed Jack lightly on the lips, "Are you ever going to be cross at me for anything?"

"Righ' now I be cross at Dornie fer threaten' ye and our child," Jack grumbled and looked over Kat's shoulder to look out the huge windows, "No one does tha' and lives."

"That's sweet, Jack," Kat murmured and made Jack look back at her with confusion written on his features, "Making threats on all those who try to kill me. It shows you care."

"Once a time ago ye believed it was barbaric," Jack chuckled a bit.

"This is no time to be civil, love," she kissed him on the tip of the nose and slowly pulled his hand to her lower stomach where they both saw a small lump showing from beneath her large shirt. He noticed that her weight had been going up and down a little, but never thought anything about it. They both smiled at each other and Jack sat up. He slid down the bed, lifted Kat's shirt up a little and kissed her lower stomach where a pooch was beginning to take shape. Kat giggled as his mustache tickled the tender skin on her stomach. He started to mumble to the lump and as she began to stroke his hair from above him. She sat up a little and leaned back on the headboard like before. Jack laid down next to her, but stayed lower than she was so he could continue to talk to Kat's stomach.

"Jack, I don't think that the baby can hear you just yet," Kat said amused, "It needs some time to develop."

"If it hears me or not, luv, I'm still goin' to talk to me boy," Jack gave her a quick look and then went back to stomach.

"Boy?" Kat gave her own cynical chuckle, "What makes you think that our baby will be a boy?"

"A captain know these thin's," Jack smiled, but didn't look up from his focus point, "When ye are a lad I will teach ye how to sail and to sing the best song in the world. Ye'll be a well rounded pirate."

Kat smiled at the enthusiasm in Jack's voice and demeanor. He will be a great father and Kat knew that. She had known that every single time he picked up Olivia and played with her and the Turner children during their short time in the tunnels. The way he cared for her and took care of the little one was amazing, and to think that if he treated a child that didn't have any blood relation to him like that then, how will he treat his own child?

"Jack, how is Olivia doing?" Kat asked, causing Jack's head to look up at her, "I haven't seen her in a while and I was wondering how she was getting through without her mother. I've missed her terribly."

"She did surprisingly well," Jack leaned on one of his arms and scooted up to lean on the headboard with Kat, "Norrington tried to take good care 'o her-"

"Norrington took care of Olivia? He has no experience with children," Kat said in an unbelievable manner.

"'Tried' be the key word there, luv," Jack smiled, "She came and slept with me for the past week or so. Then we played so many tricks on the-"

He turned to her laughing a bit, but stopped in the second that he saw Kat's curious look and quirked eyebrow, "On whom?"

"Oh, nothin' luv, jus' 'avin' some fun with the commodore," he grinned.

"I bet," Kat rolled her eyes, "So she spent the nights in here? Why didn't she bunk with the other children? With the Turners even?"

"She wouldn' go to sleep. Everyone knows poor Norrington tried numerous times to get to sleep. She wouldn' do it unless she was in 'ere."

"That's so sweet," Kat squealed a little bit and started to get up, "Now, I think I am going to get up and walk around a bit."

"No!" Jack stood up and walked around to sit Kat back down on the bed, "Ye got to be careful now, luv."

"Jack," Kat said in a patronizing tone, "I am not going to break just because I am pregnant now. I can still do some things, such as walking. Do not worry; I won't even start to look pregnant for another few weeks, according to Elizabeth. And you know how tough I am."

"But ye did faint when we were listenin' to Dornie," Jack said putting up a finger, "And tha' I don' believe be normal. Don' care wha' yer cousin says."

"Harriet knows what she is talking about, so does Elizabeth. Besides, I need to eat something. My earlier craving for some medium rare anchovies and a huge glass of milk is starting to sound very tempting right now. Maybe with some biscuits too," she began to drift off into naming off the foods of choice.

"Then let me get the food fer ye luv, I don' wan' ye walkin' too far with yer faintin' spells," he put his boots back on and walked out the door toward the galley to dig up some food for her.

Kat smiled at his actions and then walked over to the huge window where Jack was standing a little while before. The long shirt she had on reached to her mid thigh, believing it to be one of Jack's shirts and she also had a small pair of cut off pants underneath, only reaching to the top of her knees. She tugged at the shirt that had started to slip off of her shoulder and then crossed her arms over her chest to begin to think. What she went through wasn't just a fainting spell; that was something completely different. Sure, morning sickness was kicking in just a little bit, but there was something else there. Another feeling that Kat couldn't recognize so far into the pregnancy. She knew that she would be feeling some different things during the time that she was with child, but that was far off from what she thought it would feel like. It was as if something had pierced a cutlass through her gut, through the baby and it shot through her whole body. Nothing worked for her. Her hearing began to give away and she went in and out of focus as the pain surged through her being.

Before Kat was ready, the flashes from before began to flood into her memory and her vision. She blinked the first set away, but couldn't keep the images away. She held her head and looked out at the sea in one direction. The hospice began to form in her mind with a child being covered with a white sheet, and few out reached hands toward the sheet. Kat shook her head and looked a different direction to see the children piled up in the side of the cream color building that had to be the other hospice. They were all dead and others were crying inside. Another glance in the other direction her vision blurred and the room filled with children was starting to clear a bit and a little more room was being made for the surviving children. Kat covered her head with both of her hands and clenched her eyes closed.

"Stop it! Stop it! Please!" she started to yell at her own mind, trying to wash the scenes of death from her head. She almost tripped to the side and then balanced herself on the railing to the side of her, keeping her from falling on her side. The images started to fade from her mind as she kept mentally yelling for it to stop, for it to keep to itself. What ever it was to let her alone. She sunk to the floor, keeping one hand on her forehead and the other on the railing by the window until she hit the ground.

"What the hell was that?" she murmured to herself and finally let her hand drop from her head. She put a hand over the lump on her stomach and rubbed her thumb over it. Was it something to do with her baby, or was it something completely different and couldn't be controlled? She let out her breath she didn't know that she was even holding and pushed off the floor to get back to the bed. Maybe she could get some more rest before Jack got back with her food. Before now she never really know how much she could go for that anchovies and milk at that moment.

She sat on the bed and started to think over what was happening, 'What is triggering the attacks?'

She looked at the ceiling and thought that she felt another fit of pains coming on, but instead she found herself running and throwing herself over the side of the sink, thankful that she convinced Jack to install it. She gasped for breath after she let the stale bread and water come out of her system. She looked at the semi-digested food in the sink and then shook her head a little. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she stood back up and rinsed her mouth out with some water near the sink.

"That bread probably wasn't good for me anyway," she gripped her stomach and took another breath walking back to sit on the edge of the bed, "Bloody Dornie. Got enough problems, don't need her to trying and kill my husband."

A few moments later Jack walked back into the room, much to Kat's disappointment, without a plate full of food. She gave him a sad look, but once she connected with his eyes, she dropped her charade and it was her turn to worry again. It just seemed like the two of them traded back and forth on who would be doing the worrying. Jack moved slowly over to the bed and dropped down next to her. His eyes were blank and his back slumped inward. No way was she going to take this as a good sign. He gulped a few times and just stared at the window at the far side away from the bed. Not once since he entered the room had he even tried to make eye contact with Kat, and that is what was scaring her.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Kat said a little shaky rubbing his back with her hand.

Suddenly Jack took a huge breath and she felt the cracks in his breath. He was holding back tears and that scared Kat even worse, because it was usually the other way around. She would be the one crying, and he- the brave pirate captain- would hold on to her and keep her warm and safe. She couldn't take it anymore and took his face in her hands and turned him to face her. There were tears starting to form in his dark eyes and looking even further, he looked most of all lost.

"What's wrong?" Kat asked firmly still holding his face in her hands.

He gulped again and finally found some of his voice, "Somethin's… somethin's wrong with Olivia."

Everything in existence decided to crash down on Kat. Nothing was apparent to her anymore. The cabin turned to complete darkness; no color seeped through to her world. Her hands fell from Jack's face and into her lap as she began to shake her head back and forth.

"No… no, it can't be right," she said weakly, shaking her head more fiercely as she went, "They're wrong. They have to be wrong."

"They ain't wrong, luv. I saw her, she ain't doin' good," he started to rub the side of her arms with his hands steadily gaining his composure while trying to comfort Kat, "She may not make it, Kat."

"No, you're wrong!" Kat tried to throw his arms off from her and get up to the door, but Jack grabbed her in his arms and held on to Kat tightly, "She's not hurt. She's fine!"

"Kat, calm down. We can't do anything. We can't-" Kat calmed down and began to sob into Jack's chest, grabbing him around the waist. Unknown to her he also began to shed his own tears, but tried his best just to keep strong so that Kat could find a support in him. A pillar of strength. Jack closed his eyes and lifted his head to the ceiling and took another breath.

"She can't be… she's not…" Kat began to mumble once again, trying to regain some kind of self-control.

Her sobbing shrank down to a few little coughs and spits of cries after two hours. She soon found her footing again and she felt Jack's chin placed on top of her head and his hands rubbing her back. Taking a quick breath she pulled away a little bit, but made sure his hands were still on her. Comforting her.

"I need to see her, Jack. I need to," she looked into his eyes and he slowly nodded.

"All righ', luv… all righ'," he stood up and pulled Kat up with him.

He handed her some longer pants and a sash to tie around her waist. She nodded and put both of them on and quickly shoved on her boots. She stood back up with disheveled hair and all and waited for Jack to take her hand. He did so with a small smile and patted down her hair as he grabbed her hand. They both trudged out of the cabin and made their way to Kat's old room where they set up Olivia's bed. Kat wiped at her eyes as they made their way past some crewmembers and other soldiers. She didn't want them ever to see her this weak, and this messed up.

They made it to her room in less than a couple of minutes and Jack knocked on the door. It opened slowly and Kat took a sharp intake of breath as she saw the situation. On the bed lay Olivia's small form, but there were markings and scabs all over her face and arms. Just like in the visions- or what ever they were- that Kat had. She had the same exact virus.

"My God," Kat whispered to herself and went over to Olivia's side. She wasn't even awake and was barely breathing, 'Just like the others.'

Next to the far wall Norrington was bracing himself against the wall with his shoulder with Will and Jessie in a chair next to him. Harriet was sitting on the other side of the bed, but got up when she saw Jack and Kat enter the room.

Jack closed the door and Harriet came over to Kat and hugged her from behind, "We don't know what it is."

Kat looked to the side of the room and focused on Jessie sitting on Will's lap, "Will, get Jessie out of here!"

"What?" Will looked at her strangely.

"Children are susceptible! Get him out of here!" Kat stood up and opened the door. Will grabbed Jessie and put him outside the door telling him to go and find his mother. He turned back to Kat who sat back down to Olivia stroking her forehead.

"What was that about?" Will asked sitting on the other side of the bed.

"I have seen this before," Kat said softly and looked up from Olivia, "Only children are able to get it. It is deadly, and I don't think there is a cure."

"How would you know all of this?" Harriet asked from beside her, "Where did you see it before?"

"Before I passed out on the isle, I had flashes of different ports. In these ports children had a sickness, a disease. And they were dying...Olivia looks exactly like them."

"What do we do about then?" Norrington stepped from the wall.

"We need more help," Kat sighed looking at the limp Olivia.

"Where are we gettin' it?" Jack asked leaning on the door.

"Anywhere," Kat sighed and closed her eyes.

'Please Lord, don't let her die. Don't let her be one of the many,' she looked down at the four year old again, 'Please don't leave me.'

**A/N**: I know, I'm evil, aren't I? Sorry about that, but some of you had to see it coming. Anyway, this story is far from over, so please do not shun me just because of this. I will be back as soon as possible with the next chapter. See you all then, and review for Olivia! And I still love you all.


	13. Temporary Cures

A/N: I know, you probably hate me to no end right now, but here I am again, bringing you the next chapter. I just need to get the chapter out for you otherwise, I am afraid some of you may try to track me down kill me and try to write the rest of the fic yourself… scary for me… All because Olivia got sick. I say it is a good enough reason. Anyway, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 13**: Temporary Cures

Dim light cascaded over the room as a single figure sat by the small bed and a concerned mother sat in a chair at the other side of the room covered with a small shawl fast asleep. The light from the single candle flickered softly as the door opened and closed swiftly as if not to let the person know that some one had even entered the room. The figure seemed unperturbed and sat silently watching over the small angel lying in the bed below. The little girl's brown hair was saturated with sweat and some of the bangs were plastered to her face. Red sores covered her once sooth face and arms, some of them looked like they were healing while others looked infected. This being the case, no one knows if the child will get better, or is getting worse.

The mother in the chair moved to lay more on her side then on her back and shifted in the chair to find the lost comfort. She finally settled down after a few moments. The person who had just entered walked softly as not to disturb the mother or the person sitting on the side of the bed. Although his presence was known, the figure sitting next to the small victim didn't show it. They hardly moved, and when they did it was only when the small child made a noise in their sleep, or turned her head on the soft pillows. The person who intruded still tried to walk softly through the room to look over the other's shoulder.

"Ye don' 'ave to worry, Norrington," Jack said softly looking over his shoulder at the commodore, "Ye ain't goin' to wake anyone up. Harriet 'as been up fer the last day or so, she'll be sleepin' fer quite a while."

Norrington looked over at the woman and tried the best he could to silently bring another chair on the opposite side of the bed from Jack, "I didn't know you were awake. I had the impression you fell asleep watching her."

"Aye, I though' as much," Jack looked back Olivia putting his elbows on his knees and intertwining his fingers together in front of his mouth.

"How is your wife doing? I know it was quite a shock to her," Norrington tried his best to get into a conversation, and amazingly he was doing a pretty good job of it. At least it seemed that way to Jack.

"She be tired. She was up 'bout as long as Harriet. She needs her sleep too. I took over fer her."

"What did she mean about the virus? I mean, how did she know so much about it when we know nothing?"

"I don' know," Jack's stare went somewhat blank, "She was taken by Dornie, we got her back, and now she be seein' viruses before they hit."

"Not before," Norrington said shortly. Jack looked at him and found that the commodore was studying the young child just as much as Jack was just a few moments ago, "The virus was spreading before Katerina even saw it coming. Remember, Dornie was even saying that it was in all the ports that they had been through. It is circulating. And fast."

Norrington reached over and put another damp cloth of cold water on Olivia's forehead and watched as she welcomed the cool down. Jack watched him and completely dropped the discussion that they were having before hand. The commodore looked different from the moment he stepped through the door and Jack finally figured out what it was. He wasn't in his uniform and he had totally forgotten his white wig in his own cabin. The commodore's dark brown hair was brushed back into a small ponytail at the base of the skull where it met the neck. He wasn't in anything that a common man would wear out on the streets of Port Royal, but he wasn't in his commodore attire either. Jack shook his head and looked back at Olivia.

"Ye care fer them don' ye?" Jack asked louder than he meant to.

"Who?" Norrington looked at Jack with a quick snap of the head.

"Harriet and Olivia," Jack leaned back in the chair and looked at Norrington, "Ye 'ave a hard time tryin' to hide who ye care fer, mate. 'Ad a time with it with Elizabeth, and 'ave a hard time 'o it now."

Norrington took a deep breath and took a long look at Jack, "I underestimated you, Sparrow. You do perceive things that are not as apparent as others."

"I try to make it me business to interfere these days," Jack smiled and pulled a flask from his sash and took a small swig from it, "Especially when it 'as to do with family."

"They're not family," Norrington replied looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Aye, they are," Jack smirked, "Since we be workin' together on this I migh' as well bring it out in the open. Me wife, Katerina, be Harriet's cousin. She was said to be dead, but it was a lie so she could be free. We never forgot the gesture. And Harriet never forgot us. She proved tha' by clearin' me name."

"She did it for her cousin. So Kat Sparrow is actually Katerina Benikins."

"_Was_ Katerina Benikins, mate," Jack reminded, "Olivia and Harriet be two of the most important people in her life. She would go to the ends 'o the earth fer either one 'o them at any time she may be asked to. Especially fer little Olivia."

"And what about you? Would you do the same thing?"

"Aye," Jack said without hesitation surprising Norrington a bit, "Like I said before, mate. They be family and Olivia be like one 'o me own. It hurts tha' she 'as to be like this."

"I agree, and I heard that you are expecting your own pretty soon, Sparrow… My congratulations to you and your wife," Jack quirked an eye brow but made a nod in thanks, "The sooner we reach Barbados the better. There is a medical facility there that may prove very helpful. I just hope that she makes it," he started to focus on the little girl again.

Jack smiled a bit and coughed, "Tha' brings us back to wha' I brough' up earlier. I see tha' ye do care fer Harriet and Olivia. Now wha' are ye goin' to do 'bout it?"

"Do about it? What are you going on about?" Norrington put up his snotty attitude again and Jack smirked.

"Yer doin' it again. Jus' tryin' to hide yer feelin's ain't goin' to help. I should know. I didn' jus' try to hide mine; I tried to ignore them completely. In the end I couldn' doub' them. Take a pirate's advice, Norrington. Say somethin', speak up. If ye don' yer goin' to wonder wha' would 'ave 'appened if ye did."

"Is that what happened to you and Kat?"

"Aye. I left her behind because I felt tha' if I did tha', she would be safe. Instead, she left the port, came after me and convinced me to see wha' I really felt. And she wasn' wrong. I did feel somethin', I was jus' tryin' to hide it from everyone, includin' meself."

There was a slight pause and Jack glanced around the room to the fill the silence, "Ye know, this used to be her room, but the bed is in a different place from wha' I remember."

"So, you're saying that I am trying to do the same for my feelings concerning, Harriet- er Mrs. Blener as you did with Kat?" Norrington finally blurted.

"Her name is Harriet, mate. Ye can call her tha'," Jack smiled and started to talk a little softer as Olivia began to rock her head a little back and forth, "Ye've shown interest. Ye care fer Olivia very much. It showed when ye tried to take care 'o her in Harriet's absence. Ye luv them both. Now ye jus' got to stop hidin' it."

"I never knew that a pirate could be so sentimental," Norrington said in a joking manner.

"I guess the misses be gettin' to me," Jack stood up, stretched, kissed Olivia on the forehead and went to the door towards deck, "Since ye are takin' over the watch, I think I'll go and join me wife in bed. I 'aven' slept tha' well in the past days either. 'Night, Norrington."

"Good-night… captain," Norrington said quietly and Jack paused and then shook his head in amazement as he made his way to his cabin.

Norrington watched Olivia in her sleep for a few moments and then felt a hand fall on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to find Harriet looking down at him with a small smile on her lips. She pulled over Jack's chair and sat down next to him.

"How is she doing, James?" Harriet spoke softly.

"As well as can be expected. I even think that her fever is going down a bit," he took a breath and turned to look at her, "You look tired. You should get more sleep."

"I've gotten my sleep," Harriet turned to him, "It's my turn to watch her now."

"I just came here to watch her, so if you don't mind I can accompany you for a little while."

"Thank you," Harriet whispered and kissed Norrington briefly on the cheek and turned to Olivia, "You have no idea how much it means to me."

He touched his cheek and followed her gaze back down to the child, "And you have no idea how much it means to _me_."

Harriet's body seemed to stiffen at the comment, but she kept trying to keep Olivia comfortable instead of dwelling on her blooming romance with the commodore. Somehow, through out the night that they spent together watching Olivia, they found each other's hand and held on tight hoping that the little one will make it to town.

Meanwhile, Jack finally made it back to his room and immediately stripped the articles of clothing that he needed to and hopped into bed behind Kat. He wrapped his arm around her waist and finally did notice the small change in her figure. She had a little pooch at the bottom of her stomach that stuck out an inch or two more than her normal figure would allow. Jack rubbed the spot a little and smiled a bit. Even with everything else going on around them, he was still excited to know that he was going to be a father. He remembered his own father, a pirate, of course, but still had plenty of time to train his son and still command a ship. Too bad that Jack lost him when he was thirteen when a 'nobleman' caught him on another ship and slit his throat. Jack was lucky to escape with his life. But that wasn't going to happen to his child. His child will always have him. That means that he will have to live through this ordeal and beat Dornie at her own game.

He felt Kat shift under his arm and he opened his eyes to meet Kat's chocolate eyes, "I though' ye were still asleep."

"I thought as much," she whispered and scooted closer to Jack, "You know pretty soon, we won't be able to snuggle this close together facing each other."

"Why not?" Jack asked, sounding a little hurt.

"Because in the matter of months I will have a stomach that will prevent it," Kat giggled and stoked the side of his face a little bit, "How are you doing?"

"Jus' a little tired… and worried as 'ell," he sighed and rolled on his back to look at the ceiling, "Norrington and I 'ad a nice talk in yer old cabin. He really does care fer Harriet. He jus' won' do anythin' 'bout it."

"He just that stubborn?"

"Tha' and more, believe me luv," Jack looked at her as she put her head on his chest and grabbed a hold of one of his hands, " I jus' don' understand."

"Don't try to," Kat mumbled watching her hand play with Jack's fingers, "Norrington's a hard man to figure."

"Not tha'," Jack chuckled a bit and looked back at the ceiling, "How can tha' virus be travelin' so fast? And how did Olivia get it? She 'asn't been out 'o Port Royal at all, except fer this one time, righ'?"

"That's right."

"And we 'aven' been near any 'o the affected ports yet. So how did she get it?"

"Jack, do you think it is really a good idea to expose the other children on board to the virus at Barbados? They could all get sick, and then how much hope will these people have?"

"If Olivia 'as it, luv, then the whole ship be exposed. If they be goin' to get sick, they'll be doin' it any time now. Besides, Barbados may 'ave some kind of antidote or somethin' by now. We 'ave to try."

"And to think, Dornie and her crew are runnin' away from a virus that only infects children."

"Aye-" Jack stopped in mid thought and sat up into a sitting position, nearly throwing Kat to the side, "Tha's it!"

"Jack! What was that all about?" Kat asked a little annoyed by the instant out break.

"They be carryin' it!" Jack yelled grabbing Kat by the arms, pulling her up to the same position he was sitting in.

"Carrying what?"

"Dornie's crew be carrying the virus. The sickness," he looked at Kat's vacant expression and tried to explain it a bit better, "Think 'bout it, luv. Stilin was tellin' Dornie tha' all the ports tha' they 'ad passed through 'ad been affected-"

"After they left…" Kat finished his sentence for him as the information started to go through her mind, "My God, that's why Olivia got sick the fastest. She came into direct contact with Dornie when she broke her leg. And I…"

"Ye wha' luv?"

"I ate an apple from the table in Dornie's cabin. It must have had the whole infection inside of it. Maybe that is why I am having these signs. I have the infection inside me."

"Tha' be stretchin' it, don' ye think?"

"Maybe."

Jack suddenly became alarmed and looked in Kat's face and then down to her lower abdomen, "If it be inside ye… wha' 'bout the baby?"

Kat's eyes become huge at the thought and the chance that her baby may just be jeopardized, "It 'asn't shown any sign of delaying the pregnancy, or stopping it in anyway. I haven't had a miscarriage."

"But there be a possibility, aye?" Jack said softly placing his hand on her belly.

"Maybe, but I will check with Harriet and Elizabeth in the morning. Maybe they can check to see if anything is off," Kat hesitantly tried to calm herself down and placed a reassuring hand over Jack's on her stomach, "Maybe it won't affect the baby at all… maybe it will just pass."

Jack nodded slowly and they both reclined back into the pillows and let the gentle rocking of the ship relax them.

"How far do you think Dornie is behind us?" Kat asked a little distracted.

"I doub' tha' even a full day passed before she knew ye were all gone," Jack said with a sigh, "She may make mistakes, but she be no idiot."

"I beg to differ," Kat mumbled to herself, "Do you think she is going to catch up with us?"

"Do I 'ave to remind ye tha' the Black Pearl be the fastest ship in the Caribbean? And besides, she don' know where we be headin'. We could be back in Port Royal fer all she knows."

"That's a good sign. At least we get to lose track of your stalker for a while and figure out how to help Olivia."

"Aye," Jack yawned and patted Kat on the head, "Now go back to sleep, luv. We both need it."

"Before you go to sleep, Jack… can you do me a favor?" Kat asked in a pleading voice.

"Hm?" Jack asked barely awake.

"Could you possibly get me some more anchovies and milk? I'm having some more of my cravings."

Jack rolled his eyes and made a low growl, but pushed off the blankets, shoved on his boots and walked down to the galley to bring up some more food for his wife, 'Soon enough, we will be runnin' out of fish.'

* * *

After a few more days, and close calls with Olivia, the Black Pearl finally docked in Barbados. Norrington took the job of carrying Olivia towards the hospice as some other parents followed him, with their own children in their arms. Kat and Jack led the parents to the hospice, Jack the only one who really knew where he was going, because he was the only one in the group that had been there before. Will accompanied the group even though his children seemed to be fine and were left on the ship with Elizabeth. Kat looked to her side to see some loose soil in almost every yard, and crosses sticking out of the freshly disturbed earth. She turned away from it quickly and tried to keep her eyes focused straight ahead. 

Once they made it to the hospice a short nurse took one look at the group coming in and rushed to get a doctor, no doubt. Soon enough a tall man walked toward them and saw the sick children in the arms of concerned parents and guardians. He shook his head and looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any more room and can't-"

Before he could continue he was pushed against the wall by a very angry Kat, "We have traveled for over a week just to get here in some small hope that you can help us. In case you haven't noticed I am a pirate, and I will do something very drastic if I don't see some results. So don't give me that you don't have any room, because you do. The room in the back is getting less occupied each day. You have to have something to help these children, and I suggest that you give it to them as fast as you can, savvy?"

Jack looked on in a very scared fashion and just kept his mouth shut, he wasn't going to butt in with Kat acting this way. He has never seen her this angry before. Will came up and stood next to him and leaned toward him to whisper to him.

"Mood swings, they're very common during this time," he explained.

"You have something to say Turner?" Kat glanced in his direction.

"Uh, no, no! Not at all Kat," Will smiled a huge smile and let her get along with 'talking' to the doctor. Soon enough, the doctor was trying to explain the situation and had Harriet also down his neck, since she too had started on her mood swings only a few days ago.

"Ma'am!" the doctor tried to get them to calm down again, "We do have something to give to the children."

"That's what I thought," Kat said leaning a little away from the frightened man.

"But it isn't a cure. It is to help with the fever and some of the discomfort. There is no cure that I know of. I am sorry, but I think that you should just cut your losses. I am sorry."

"Don't you dare-" Kat started to go after the man again until Jack caught her around the waist and drug her back a few feet. He began to whisper some things into her ear, which seemed to calm her down a bit, but not completely taking the death glare from her face.

"You are sure there is no cure?" Harriet asked from Norrington's arms, who also had to hold her back after the doctor's last statement.

"I'm sorry," the doctor shifted his eyes to the floor and started to walk down the white hall, "I will go and get the serum. At least to get them comfortable."

Kat began to calm down and sunk back into Jack's embrace, "There is no cure."

"At least not 'ere, there ain't," Jack murmured.

"What?"

"Maybe we should track this down to the port it originated from?"

"How do we know where that is?" Kat looked up at his face.

"I think it be time to go and take a trip back home to Nassau," Jack smiled and looked down at her, "Tha's where the Harbinger makes birth, and where the crew got the virus from."

"Well… on to Nassau then."

A/N: Thank you all for joining me this far... I am sorry to tell you I am discontinuing the- no, I'm just playing with you! I will finish this with probably agrand total of nineteen chapters. I may be able to stretch it to Twenty. Hopefully, that is my goal. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and there are more to come, I promise. Love you all, and R&R please!


	14. Home

**A/N:** Oh God! An update from me! You all thought I was probably dead by now, ey? Probably would be thanks to work and school. But now that school is over and I finally have a laptop of my own I will have more opportunity to write. At least that is my hope. I can't believe I have put this off for so long. I hope you guys will forgive me and review anyway. I will really appreciate it and will try to get more motivation to type up the next chapter soon.

**Chapter 14:** Home

Jack sat in the hall outside of one of the many examination rooms in the Barbados hospice. He asked one of the other doctors that were running around the hospice to examine Kat, since they were both worried about the baby's health. She was still rather mad at the head doctor who had told them all to cut their losses when they had first arrived. Not to mention that both Kat and Harriet scared the Hell out of the blighter. At one point they had him pinned against the wall until they were both sure that he would cooperate with them. Jack never knew that Harriet had so much fight in her. But considering it concerned Olivia, he didn't blame her for being so emotional. All of a sudden Jack began to chuckle to himself as he remembered the blokes face when Harriet and Kat went at him after he said there was no hope.

He began to sober down as he remembered why she was in the room with a doctor in the first place. Both he and Kat were worried about the baby's health and its development. True, it was only about the size of his fist or so, but he wanted to make sure that none of that infected food had hurt his unborn child or Kat. If one or another was hurt or injured in a way that would prove to be fatal, he would kill Dornie personally. That was a promise to himself.

He shrugged it off as his new parental instincts taking over. He shook his head at the thought. Captain Jack Sparrow… a father. To really think about it is both an exciting and scary feeling. To think, he was a captain of a pirate ship and he was scared of an unborn child. But it was _his_ unborn child. And it may be hurt. He frowned at the thought and closed his eyes for a moment to think. He opened them again to look at some of the candles lighting the hallway. Nothing, no one was going to take the experience of being a father away from him. Even if he had to kill the undead to do it.

After taking a breath he turned his head to find Norrington coming back down the hall with a cup in each of his hands. Jack was hoping for a beverage of some kind while sitting outside the door. But knowing Norrington, this wasn't going to be rum… or anything else of the sort. The Commodore was too much of a straight arrow to even touch the stuff.

Norrington sat down next to Jack and released his own sigh from his lungs. He had asked for Harriet to also be looked over and checked. She too was on that ship with infected water and bread. She had just as much of a chance as Kat did to have something wrong. Besides that, she had secretly been telling him that she had been feeling awkward about the baby the past week or so. She hadn't told anyone else in fear that they would worry about her when they should have really been worrying about her daughter. But she had confided in him that she was barely showing any signs of her new pregnancy other than her moodiness. Although, that could also be chalked up to the lack of sleep she had been receiving and pushing herself through. Late nights at Olivia'sbedside, not to mention the sleepless nights when she wasn't with her.

Norrington turned to Jack and handed him one of the cups while taking a gulp from the other one. Jack took the cup and looked questioningly at Norrington. He took a sniff and found a strange, yet soothing aroma waft up fromthe liquid in his cup.

"Wha's this?" Jack looked at the liquid and tried to tip the cup back and forth to see how the drink reacted in the cup. He was hoping that he could maybe slip some rum into it when the good 'ol commodore wasn't looking.

"It's tea... herbal," he muttered and looked toward the door after a long sip, "It's suppose to help with the nerves."

"Some help it be givin' ye," Jack muttered under his breath.

"What could be taking him this long? It was only a simple check over wasn't it?"

"Calm yerself, mate. They 'ave te be thorough," Jack took a sip of the tea and made a disappointing face at it, "If they don' I'll kill 'em. And they know it."

"I can take that was a threat to the medical professionals and arrest you, you know?" Norrington smirked at the thought.

"Well, call me crazy, Norrington," Jack took a pause to look at the potted plant at the side of him and poured the tea in its soil. He looked back at Norrington to find him still concentrating on the door, "But if they didn' do the same with Harriet, ye would be righ' behin' me. Sword and pistol drawn to kill."

Norrington chuckled and nodded, "I would have never guessed that I would sitting with you talking calmly about killing another person. Doctors even. And to top it all off we're laughing about it."

"Strange 'lil world, ain't it?" Jack smirked and tipped his hat over his eyes, "Te tell ye the truth, I though' ye would hang me before ye would talk civil te me."

"Before this… you would have been right," he took another breath and watched as a nurse came from the examining room to bring back two more nurses and a doctor into the room with her. All had frantic or worried faces on and Norrington noticed. He also noticed the red stain on the first nurse's gown. He had seen it more than enough times to know that it was blood. He stood up before they all could pass him and stopped one of the nurses before they entered the room.

"What's going on?" he held gently to her arm.

"We're handling the situation," she said and gently pushed Norrington back into his seat, "She's going to be just fine, sir."

Jack tilted his hat back and looked up at the nurse, trying to put Norrington back at peace, "Wha' kind 'o situation would ye be referin' to?"

"She's going to be just fine," she repeated in her nurse-reassuring voice and looked at Jack in the eyes, "The baby is acting a bit abnormal in the womb. We will do every-"

That's all Jack had to hear before he shot out of his chair and tried to reach the door beyond the nurse. The nurse caught him before he could even reach the door. She firmly pressed her hand on his chest and told him stay in the hall. Of course, Jack didn't want to listen to the woman. His wife could be having complications and all he wanted to do was to be there for her if that was the case. He tried once again for the door, although this time Norrington was right behind him.

"Gentlemen, please," the nurse urged them, "We are doing all we can, but I cannot do my job if I am standing out her trying to restrain you two."

Both men took a step back when hearing the reasoning in her explanation. She nodded in thanks and slipped back into the room to help the poor woman. Jack stood immobile, unmoving as the door slid shut and clicked into place. He knew something was wrong with Kat. There was a feeling that he had, sickening… like he had turned back into a skeleton… and most of all he was scared that he was going to lose her and his child. Norrington stood next to him and tried to slow down his breathing.

They both began to sit back down when they heard a woman scream from inside the exam room. Within one second they were both back to their senses and Jack was bursting through the door, without a single thought on his mind other than Kat. He wasn't waiting any longer and wasn't going to argue with anyone else. As soon as he walked through the door he saw two men try to come toward him to stop him, but he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the two men who backed down quickly. They let him through and just watched him walk toward the curtains. Norrington was right behind him, not caring what it took anymore.

"Commodore? Are you going to allow this?" one of the doctors asked as Norrington passed them.

"It depends if we actually receive answers we are searching for or not," he shot back. He saw Jack walk through the curtain and then stepped back out immediately. He held out his hand toward Norrington from coming forward.

"Believe me, mate… don't."

There was another scream that ripped from a figure behind the curtains. Not a scream of pain, but one of absolute anguish and distress. Jack wouldn't have been out there with him if it were Kat. Something was wrong with Harriet, and she needed him.

He quickly pushed past Jack and ran through the curtains. Kat was holding on to Harriet around the shoulders as her cousin sobbed uncontrolled into her shirt. The end of the bed was covered in her blood and she looked like an absolute mess. Nurses hurried in and out of the small room trying to clean what they could. At the side of the room, Norrington caught a glimpse of a tray covered by a small white cloth. He could see the small, undeveloped features of a child underneath the cloth. She had lost her child. For no reason, she had lost her child to an early delivery.

Kat looked up at him and then at Harriet quickly. She leaned Harriet back for a moment and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and looked up to see Norrington standing before her. He walked over to her side and knelt down next to the bed where she immediately threw her arms around his neck, and continued to sob.

"I lost… I lost him…" she sobbed and held tightly to him.

"Shh…" he tried to sooth her by rubbing on her back.

Kat shut her eyes to let some tear escape, but then silently slipped out from the curtain. The blood from the miscarriage covered her hands and clothes. Something just reacted in her body, and triggered an early delivery. First Harriet looses her husband, and her daughter is on the edge of life… now she's lost the baby. What else could go wrong for her family?

Kat could feel the tears begin to burn in her eyes again. She cradled her stomach and began to rock back and forth on her heels, watching the ground. The doctors thought she checked out fine and then moved on to Harriet. What if they were wrong? What if she was going to have a miscarriage too? What if somehow her baby is delivered prematurely and dies underneath a small white cloth?

A hand gently brushed over her shoulder and she knew that it was Jack, "Luv…?"

"It was a little boy…" she said quietly, "Sh…she was going to have a son."

"Come 'ere," Jack turned her around and she hugged him tightly. He didn't care about all the blood and he didn't care that she was crying with all her might. He would hold her until she has stopped crying, and even longer than that. He would keep her and their baby safe. That she was always sure of.

"She can't take much more of this, Jack," Kat took a deep breath to regain her composure and chocked back some of the tears, "Her spirit's going to break if we don't do something. She's going to loose everything if Olivia doesn't make it… we have to do something. That little girl is all she has left."

"And we _are_ goin' to do somethin'," Jack nodded and kissed her forehead, "Even if it kills me, we will find a cure. I give ye me pirate word."

Kat closed her eyes and just fell into his chest, trying to keep herself safe in the only place that she could feel so. In Jack's arms encompassing her and tightly holding on. He wasn't going anywhere, and neither was she or the baby.

* * *

The next day Jack and the crew boarded the Pearl, ready to set sail for Nassau and a possible cure for Olivia and the other children. Of course, Will and Elizabeth joined him on the mission, taking their children along for the ride. Jack was going to argue the point, that was until they made their own grand point that they didn't want to keep the children in a place that was know to have contracted the disease. Even if they were all ready exposed, they shouldn't be around it more than they had to be. Once they reached Nassau, the children will stay on the ship while they went on land. And if Olivia couldn't hold on before they got back... They didn't know how Jesse would handle it. They were best friends. And to lose that at such an early age wasn't in Will or Elizabeth's plans. Jack reluctantly agreed and the Turner family once again boarded the Pearl for another adventure. 

Kat was in the Captain's Cabin as soon as she bid her cousin goodbye. At least for the meantime. Harriet was staying at Olivia's bedside, in her own bed of course. She had to regain the strength and the blood she had lost in the miscarriage. She was still very weak, and emotionally broken. Which was not at all surprising to anyone. But what was surprising- at least to Jack- was the fact that Norrington was leaving her side. Especially after she lost her little boy. He wanted to help find a cure. They all did. He understood that. But this would be the first time in weeks that Norrington would leave her sight. Or vise-versa. He'll be a nervous wreak the whole voyage and he knew it.

Jack sighed as he walked into the Captain's cabin after he set the right coordinates and left the steering to Gibs and Anamaria. He fell back onto the bed, laying across it's width and put his hat over his face. He felt his heavy boots pull his feet toward the floor at one side of the bed. His crew is a bit more apprehensive and he knows it. Another deep breath and he caught the scent.

"Ye already know tha' I know yer at the door, so don' even try to sneak up on me, luv," he tipped his hat up to find Kat leaning against the door frame leading into their small wash room.

"For your information, I was not going to sneak up on you, Jack," she smirked and walked over to the bed only to sit on the side next to him. She fell back to lay beside him and let her own feet dangle over the side. Her boots were thrown over to the side of the room as soon as she got on board. She closed her eyes and heard the almost distant waves hit at the hull of the ship.

"Wha's wrong?" Jack turned on his side and looked down at his wife.

"Everything... did you really need to ask?" she opened her eyes and looked up at him, "I feel guilty just leaving her like that. After... what happened," she absentmindedly stroked her own lower stomach where their unborn child was growing. Apparently and thankfullyhealthy.

"Kat," he put an hand over the one that was on her lower stomach, "She wasn' goin' to leave Olivia's side. And the only reason ye be is the fact that we may actually fin' somethin' to cure 'er of wha' ever this be."

"That's true," Kat nodded and groaned, "I just don't know what to feel, Jack. How is it that my child has survived when so many others must suffer and perish?"

"First off, luv, it's _our_ child," he patted her stomach once again, "And second, I rather it happen to the bloke down the street then to my family."

"Jack! That's a horrible thing to say!" Kat sat up and leaned back on her elbows, trying her best to stare him down.

"Ye think the same thin'. Ye can't disagree with tha'."

She stopped short and slowly nodded her head. It was true. She was glad that it was happening to others and not her family. To her baby. But why in the world did it have to be her cousin that had to go through the tragedy of losing a child. Wasn't losing Robert enough damage to one heart? And a second child on the brink of death. All the cause of a crew of miserable cowards. Led by a woman who only thinks of death and revenge.

"I just... sometimes I don't understand why things happen the way they do," she said quietly and got up to look out the huge windows in the cabin, "Why Olivia of all the children? Why Robert? Why does she have to be after you?"

"Because she didn' kill me the first time, luv," Jack tried to joke but saw that he failed when she didn't look back at him. She kept her eyes on the red and orange waves from the sunset, "An' we will save 'er, luv... I gave ye and Harriet me word. We're goin' to find it. Olivia will not be lost. Not when Cap'n Sparrow 'as anythin' to say about it."

Kat smiled and looked out at the sea, "I believe you, Jack. You haven't let me down yet."

"There's no way I could," he wrapped his arms around her from behind and laid his head on her shoulder as he looked out at the sea as well.

"Unless you left me behind on another God Forsaken beach again," she smiled and they both chuckled with one another. Trying to comfort one another. They took a look over the countless waves and couldn't find anything better than being home. It was good to be home.


	15. On to Nassau

**A/N**: So here's another chapter up and ready for you all to review. Please do, I love to hear from you guys. The ending of the chapter is a little rushed, but I tried. Esspically for who late it is. Well, see you all tomorrow... or at least that is when I hope to type the next chapter. We'll see. Happy reading!

**Chapter Fifteen**: On to Nassau

For over a week, Jack has had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. At least he was keeping Kat company in the washroom when she was still going over her morning sickness. The past few days she has seemed to be calming down, but her moodiness is growing, not to mention her appetite for goat's milk and anchovies. Her stomach was growing noticeably and was beginning to bulge below her pants. Some have even been torn in her attempt to do her daily actions on the ship. And now, not only is she becoming a huge hormone factory, he was becoming a nervous wreck. It was something that she had said the night they left Olivia and Harriet at the hospice. It was eating at the back of his mind for days, grabbing his attention away from his duties at the helm. The other members of the Pearl understood. Gibbs and Anamaria more than anyone. The words just kept repeating in his mind.

'Unless you left me on another god forsaken beach again...'

He almost left her to die at Port Royal a year ago. She wouldn't have been safe as he once thought. She probably would have been killed when Dornie came through in her search for him. If Kat hadn't had the guts to come and find him after he left her, she would have died. Knowing Kat, she probably wouldn't have let that sad excuse of a captain, Belstrude near her. Let alone give him any children. She wouldn't have been spared and would have been lying among the reset of the bodies and rubble of Port Royal. She would have been murdered. And it would have been his fault. That alone sickened him beyond belief. Not to mention scares him to death. In trying to help her, he would have sent her to her death.

He splashed his face yet again with some of the clean water from the ceramic basin. Kat was still asleep, which was starting to become routine. Her morning sickness was becoming less these days, but she has been needing to use the washroom for a different reason. Her bladder was getting confined in the shrinking amount of space in her stomach. She needs to run in and out every so often, but Jack doesn't mind it so much, since she kept him company. Even if she was a bit moody on and off.

"Jack, are you okay?" Kat came up behind him and rubbed his back a bit, hoping to calm what she thought was his upset stomach. He jumped a little at her touch, not expecting it, and too lost in his own thoughts to even notice her come into the room.

"Jus' reflectin' on past events," he grumbled and pulled himself up to stand straight, "You needen' to use the wash room again?"

"No, I was just wondering if you needed help. You've been in and out of the bathroom as much as I have lately. What's wrong?"

"Jus' some guilt tha's been ridin' me for the past few days," he walked from the wash room and sat down on the side of their bed, "It jus' hit close to home, and I can't shake it off."

"You know it's not your fault," Kat smiled and walked around the bed to get on behind him to start and rub his back.

"Fer wha'?"

"For Dornie... the curse... the sickness... anything else that's bouncing around in that head of yours," she smiled and tapped him on the side of the head, "Dornie is obsessed with revenge and would have come after you one day or another. You can't control what she does and you know it."

"But I can control wha' I 'ave done," he mumbled and touched her hand that was lying limp on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Kat."

"Now what are you apologizing to me about?" she asked sitting back on her knees and letting an exasperated sigh escape her lips.

"Fer leavin' ye on that God forsaken beach... when I knew ye belonged with me. I knew that ye did, I just didn't want to believe it and put you in that danger."

"Jack..." she sat next to him so she could stare into his face, "You were doing what you thought was best for me and I appreciate it. Always have and always will. Besides, things worked out for the best, didn't they?"

"And wha' if ye didn't come after me? Ye would 'ave married Belstrude and then in a year's time killed by Dornie and her crew in her mad search to find me."

"Jack, if I hadn't gone after you... by the time Dornie came through, I would have all ready been dead inside. Nothing that she could have done would have hurt more than that day that I had given up," she kissed him on the tip of his nose, "Now..."

She hits him upside the back of his head, disturbing his bandana and she got up with some difficulty, "Stop blooming blaming yourself and be happy you're not the one carrying the baby! Men... always thinking that they have the hardest job in a relationship. I don't see him having to go to the restroom every five minutes... or throwing up for that matter..."

Jack shook his head as she ran back into the washroom to empty her bladder once again while mumbling her complaints. He chuckled again at the minor mood swing. He knew that she could get much worse, and he knew by then to get out of her way when she wanted something or wanted to go somewhere. Not to mention it has taught him to keep the extra cutlasses away from his pregnant wife. Not to mention anything that may be used as a club.

"Captain?" a knock came at the cabin door and Jack got up to find first mate Gibbs on the other side.

"Ey, Gibbs. Wha' be the news?" Jack asked as he heard Kat come from the washroom, hopefully in a better mood than when she went in.

"We be approchin' Nassau port, captain. I'd say a good day or so till we reach 'er," Gibbs nodded to the port side where a spit of land could be seen in the distance.

"Good, I could finally get my feet on some dry land, I've been stumbling around way too long," Kat laid her hands on her now swelling stomach.

"Wha' are ye talkin' about, Kat? Ye luv it on the Pearl out on the sea," Jack put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her from the side.

"You try carrying a baby inside you and deal with the tumbling waves," she scolded and pushed past Gibbs out to the deck.

"Mood swing, ey?" Gibbs asked.

"Aye, mood swing," Jack nodded and headed toward the wheel.

Norrington met Jack and Kat up at the helm where he was surveying the island straight ahead of them. It was Nassau Port. The only port that the Harbinger was said to make birth. And the top it off, it was said to be the greatest and possibly only pirate paradise known. If he had his own ship, and his own crew he would be able to take down the whole port not to mention all the illegal activity happening in the port. But things have changed ever since the attack on Port Royal. Things he thought was once impossible. He and the captain of the Black Pearl now had a mutual understanding. He, Commodore James Norrington, had an understanding with Captain Jack Sparrow. Once thought of as one of his most difficult rivals is now known as a close friend.

"Somethin' on yer mind, Norrington?" Jack questioned him as he helped Kat climb the stairs to the helm.

"Just some developments that I never though would happen," he nodded and stepped foward to help him with Kat.

Kat finally held out her hands and turned to Jack, "You go to the helm, I think I'll go down to the galley to grab something to eat."

"Ye sure about tha', luv?" Jack tilted his head toward the deck.

"I'm sure, Jack," she smiled and patted her bulging stomach with her hand.

"I'll make sure she will be okay, Sparrow," Norrington stood at the opportunity.

"Thank ye," Jack nodded and kissed Kat on the cheek as he made his way to the wheel.

"That's very chivalrous of you, commodore," Kat smirked and walked with the commodore to the galley.

"I'm only helping a friend."

Kat laughed a little to herself and nearly collapsed as they reached the tables at the edges of the galley. She leaned her back against the wall for support as Norrington sat to the side watching the clouds and sky through the porthole. She couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips as she watched him from the corner of her eye. He turned back to her and gave her a questioning glance.

"You called Jack a friend," she smiled and tilted her head against the wall once again, "You do realize that, don't you?"

"Yes, I am aware if it," he nodded and looked at her, "You're enjoying that fact aren't you?"

"Well, friend is a lot better than pirate in my opinion," she nodded and then leaned foward to lay her head in her folded arms, "God, this pregnancy is taking a toll on me."

Norrington only looked at the top of her head and drew in a breath, "At least you have the luck to have a child in this lifetime. I believe that my time has run out."

"Now don't go down that road, Norrington," Kat mumbled into her arms, "You may still have some luck in your future."

"You are referring to Harriet, aren't you?"

"Of course," she smiled and looked up, "She cares for you, James. And you do for her as well. And Olivia. You're just scared to show it. She is too. But the only way you're going to reach the chance of finally settling down and having your family... with or without your own child, is if you try."

"How do you know about this?"

"You remember that I had to go and find Jack?"

"Yes," he folded his hands in front of him and stared at the for a moment.

"I had to ask for passage on two different ships. Under false pretenses. And on one of them I was nearly raped, and possibly killed," she saw him look up at her and she gave him a knowing smile, "Jack doesn't even know that tid- bit. The man was killed shortly after. The thing was is that I went through those obstacles to find him and I never turned back. You're scared about asking Harriet. I was scared to tell Jack. But I was terrified to find him dead, or to never tell him how I truly felt. You have less riding on this commodore, and I would take the opportunity."

"You are giving me advice to ask for your cousin's hand in marriage?"

"If you feel that deeply, I'm not stopping you," she tapped her fingers on the table, "But to give you a heads up, I doubt her answer would be a no."

"Thank you," he nodded and looked at his hands again.

"You are a fine man, James. Just... you gotta have more faith in people you wouldn't expect to. Including pirates."

"I have learned that better than ever these past few weeks."

Kat put her head back down on her arms. Her back was killing her and she was getting very uncomfortable during her sleep. That's caused from the unusual growth in her stomach, but she couldn't help it. And she was happy that it was there.

"What are you planning to do when all this is over?" she asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

She had to at least look at him, so she turned her head to the side and looked up at him, "I mean when all this battling the dead and Dornie issue is over... what is to become of Jack and the Pearl? What are you going to tell your superiors?"

"Sparrow and his crew has done a great deal of servitude to the citizens of Port Royal, and that should not go without some reward..." Kat looked at him quizzically and he took a deep breath, "I am putting in a request for the Black Pearl and her crew and captain to become part of the fleet. It will be the first pirate ship to do so."

"That's a huge step there, James," Kat nodded, "And in all respect, I don't know if Jack will take it. We both like our looting. And our life. I doubt he'll change his ways for that."

"Well, we would have to keep some things off the record, won't we Mrs. Sparrow?"

She chuckled lightly, "Looks who's coming to the dark side of the spectrum. And Norrington... the name's Kat."

"Kat then," he nodded.

"And here I thought you always went with the old saying, 'One deed does not excuse a life time of wickedness.'"

"As I said... a lot has changed."

"Indeed..."

They both sat in silence and watched out the window as land began to come toward them, little by little.

Jack had hoped that Kat would actually stay aboard, but to no avail. She had wanted to get her feet on dry land and nothing was going to stop her from doing so. Even her overprotective husband. Norrington and Will also came along with Gibbs and Anamaria following close behind. The rest of the crew stayed a board and helped to get the Pearl prepped if there was any need for a hasty escape. It was after all the port from which the Harbinger made birth. Norrington was actually wearing something very unlike himself. He didn't have his wig on, and he actually had to borrow some clothes from Jack himself. With Kat's help of course. It just wouldn't be right if there was a fully in command commodore running around in the Pirate Paradise that was Nassau.

As soon as they stepped onto land, they found a surprise waiting for them when they turned the corner toward the hospice.

There were children. Alive children, playing in the street with one another. Healthy, clean and happy children. Running, catching, jumping... everything that a child should be able to do. Some were laughing and others fighting over some toy or piece of a doll. Some had the actual signs that they had the illness. The same marks that now plagued Olivia's face were present on some of the other children. But they were all healing and very faint.

"Jack..." Kat breathed in for some small hope that maybe, just maybe there was a cure. And these people had found it.

"I see, luv," he nodded and the group continued to walk to the hospice.

Once inside they saw in what all respect looked like a normal running medical facility. There were no more than only a few children in the hallways with the illness. But these children were sitting up and chatting happily with their parents or guardians. Other patients with gun shot wounds or broken arms also lined the hallways and rooms. There weren't overflowing rooms of children like at Barbados. They had found a cure. Now it was all up to find some one to tell them what it is.

"May I help you?" a short looking nurse came up to the group. She was trying to balance a few pieces of parchment and a few pistols that she probably took away from a few of her patients.

"You found a cure?" Kat asked still looking at a little girl holding her small doll to her little chest, "For the illness, I mean. They are healing."

"Not all of them," the nurse bowed her head slightly, "There were many who perished before we had the chance to save them."

"And we have many more who will if we do not get that information. A small little girl is dying as we speak in Barbados. Please, we need to know the cure," Norrington stepped up and stood beside Jack and Kat who was leading the group.

"Oh yes... my apologies. It was the most curious thing," she smiled a little, "We actually found it by mistake. One child just wanted to have the most unusual food, and as a last request we gave it to him. He was walking around his room the next day as if he was never sick to begin with."

"What exactly was that?" Kat asked frantically, ready to get back to Olivia.

"It was medium rare anchovies... and some goats milk," she looked at the group and then turned toward another door, "I hope I have helped you in some small way. I must tend to my other patients now. Good luck, and I hope you reach her in time."

As the nurse ran off, Jack looked over at his wife, who had the most surprised face. That was her biggest craving. The cure was in front of them the whole time. That's why she didn't have a miscarriage. She held the key. She was protecting her baby and she didn't even know it. And now that they had it, they were on their way back. Kat noticed that Jack asked another nurse for something on the way out and she brought back a piece of paper for him. She was going to ask him about it, but thought better of it. Right now, she wanted to get to Olivia and the other children. They were their only hope.


	16. On Our Way

**A/N:** Hey there all. I'm on a roll now. And I still have at least four chapters to go. I hope. Until next update! Review please!

**Chapter Sixteen**: On Our Way

Jack led the group back toward the Pearl. Now armed with their new knowledge, they could get back to Barbados hospice and save the children. And more importantly, save Olivia. As they made their way through the sea side city, Kat couldn't help but notice the piece of paper that Jack had in his firm grip. He had taken it from one of the other nurses before they left the small hospice and Kat had been wondering about it ever since. Ever since he first received it, he hadn't shown it to anyone. Not even to her. It wasn't like him to keep things to himself like that, but she had confidence that he would tell her when he thought it was the opportune moment.

As they neared the ship, Kat had to have help catching her breath. The baby was taking it's toll on her the past few days and she suspected that soon enough, she would have to stay captive in her own bed. She stopped a few steps short and leaned against some boxes and barrels at the edge of the harbor. Jack stopped and doubled back to help her find her footing again. She was beginning to get more fatigued these days, but she was carrying a baby with in her. And it was growing day by day. He couldn't blame her, with being pregnant on top of worrying if the family she has left is going to survive this tragedy. He put his arm around her and put her arm over his shoulder to help carry some of her weight. She smiled at the gesture and leaned on him as they neared the Pearl. Norrington and Will watched their backs as though they were going to be captured and tortured. All the while Anamaria and Gibbs walked normally down the road toward the harbor, making sure that Will and Norrington didn't do something incredibly stupid.

Before they even boarded the plank to get on the ship, Elizabeth came down to meet them with a sleeping Emily leaning on her shoulder. Will walked up to her first, thinking that something may have happened to them in his absence.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing huge, Will. Calm yourself," Elizabeth smiled and handed Emily over to her father. She looked up and walked over to Jack, "It seems as if we will be delayed for a little while, Captain."

"What?" Kat said exasperated, "The last thing we need is a delay, Elizabeth. We finally found the cure and we must get back as soon as possible."

"And as soon as possible is when we will set sail. I am so glad that we finally found the cure and all, but there are some matters that are needed to be addressed. We are desperately running out of food and rum. Not to mention we are completely out of any kind of meat. Including fish," she focused on Jack who took a deep breath to cleanse his breath, "I want to save the children and Olivia, but... We can't very well starve ourselves on our way back, can we?"

"No, yer right. We can't," he shook his head and turned toward Gibbs and Anamaria, "Get Henders and Charlie. The boy seems like he needs some time on land. Every time he sees me he seems to be shaking in his boots. It looks like we need to do some shopping for food anyhow. And make sure you get some good quality rum, ey?"

"Aye, Captain," Gibbs nodded, "I'm just glad this food ain't contaminated any more."

"Aren't we all," Jack nodded and looked sympathetically to Kat, "I'm sorry, luv. I want to get back as soon as we can too. But-"

"We can't sacrifice the crew and welfare of those on board, I understand Jack," she smiled weakly and sat back down on one of the barrels, "So what do we do in the meantime?"

"I'm going with Mr. Gibbs and Anamaria on their search for food. I want to make sure we have plenty of anchovies and goat's milk," Norrington mumbled as he went aboard to find Anamaria and the still limping Gibbs.

"And I think ye should take a break in our cabin, luv," Jack turned his attention to Kat who had finally caught her breath, and was waiting for the next step to be taken.

"And where exactly will you be going while I'll be resting?" she asked looking at him as she stood up, trying to find her balance once again. As much as she loved solid footing on land, she wasn't used to it, and felt as if she was going to topple over at any moment.

"I had some thin's te look fer. Some unfinished business as it were," he looked at the piece of parchment that was still partly crumpled in his right had.

"Then I will help you," she nodded.

"Luv, this is somethin' that I 'ave to face alone," he looked up at her.

"Now Jack, you really think that was going to work with me?" she shook her head slightly, "When we were married I promised you that you would never have to do anything alone again. And you promised that we would never have be apart in time of need. We are a team, Captain Sparrow. Pregnant or not, I'm going to help you."

"I would listen, Jack," Will piped up with his daughter sleeping soundly in his arms, "I mean, she is still in her moodiness stage..."

"Excuse me... what stage did you say that I be in, Tuner?" Kat glared at him, "If I were you I wouldn't even continue on the path you started on all ready."

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted and walked on board with Elizabeth right beside him.

"Are ye sure ye want te come along? It's not goin' te be pretty," Jack stood up and looked at the paper, unraveling it in his hands.

"What has been pretty these past few weeks, Jack?" she asked and hugged him the best she could with her bulging gut, "I mean... we're running from un-dead pirates and trying to save children from a disgusting illness."

"Good point there, luv," he nodded and let Kat look down at the paper with him. There was a few numbers and words scribbled in the middle. It almost seemed like it was directions and places of property.

"What is it Jack?" she asked as she tried to make sense of the chicken scratch handwriting that was spread out on the paper.

"I wanted to come back 'ere after everythin' was settled down. I asked for... directions. I 'ad to say goodbye to someone," he took a deep breath again and looked down at her, "No time like the present, ey?"

"Yes, no time like the present," she nodded and walked with Jack, letting him lead them through the streets.

Kat noticed the countless eyes watching them as they walked through the dirt streets. The people here must know of Jack and the Black Pearl. And even about the vengeance plot that Dornie had against him because of Catterine's death. She also had more than a few doubts that these people were just scared citizens. They probably held a grudge against Jack as well because of the incidence and probably knew more than one way to defend themselves. The more they made their way in to the deeper part of the city, the more Kat was prepared to use the pistol she held on her hip.

"Jack, you sure this is such a good idea," Kat murmured watching another man grimace at her and Jack, "I mean, these people are probably friends with Dornie and her crew."

"Aye, luv," Jack stopped to look at her and smiled, "An' let me remind ye. Tha' be the same crew that left them te die from the disease. Ye know, bein' the cowards tha' they be."

"Good point," she whispered as a tall, brutish looking man stepped in front of them before they turned the next corner. He was at least a head above Jack in height and possibly another half of him wide. His hair was turning mostly grey and white, along with the small beard that he had on his chin. He must have been almost twice Jack's age, yet he looked as healthy as a man ten his junior. Kat held on to Jack's arm tighter and had to judge by the man's build that he wasn't going to moved easily. She slowly moved her free hand toward her pistol and began to search the man for any weak points.

"Jack Sparrow..." the man growled down at them, crossing his arms as he looked Jack over.

Jack stared up and frowned, "...Daniel Stocksen."

Kat could feel the hilt of the pistol and was ready to pull it out on the man, until the man picked up Jack in one full swipe and let a smile creep on his face. She saw as the man seemed to hug Jack in a tightening embrace, like he was a close friend. He chuckled a bit as he saw Jack starting to struggle for breath.

"Well, I ne'er though' I'd see ye around these parts since Angelina ran ye out," he laughed and set Jack back down on the ground next to a very confused Kat.

"Ye knew I couldn' stay away from me own pirate paradise," Jack smiled and repositioned his hat back on his head while catching his breath, "Not even Angelina and Catterine could keep me away for long."

"Aye, Catterine, the ol' windbag..." the man nodded and paused a moment, "Is it true wha' they said then, Jack?"

"Aye," Jack nodded and squeezed the bridge of his nose, "I did. It was a matter 'o importance. I 'ad no other choice at the time. Although a part of me always wished there was."

"Aye, aye... Catterine wasn' the same after a while, ye know. 'E changed o'er the pas' few years. I was beginnin' te think tha' Angelina 'ad gotten inside 'es 'ead," he shook his head in disappointment and looked at Kat who was still trying to make sense of the situation, "Enough lookin' in the pas'. Who this be 'ere, Jack? This be the matter 'o importance?"

"This 'ere be jus tha'," he pushed Kat ahead of him a few steps, "This be Katerina. Katerina, this 'ere is Daniel Stocksen. An ol' friend from me childhood."

Kat cautiously shook the man's hand. He laughed and shook it all the same, "Actually I was a friend 'o Jack's dad. 'E jus' 'appened to be a child at the time."

"So you knew Jack when he was a child? I imagine you have many tales to tell."

"'O course," he bumped into Jack and made him take a step or two to the side, "'E was a bit of a rascal 'round these parts. Still is spoken legend. The only child from this port te actually make a name fer 'imself."

"You mean... Jack, you never told me you were from Nassau!" she yelled at his direction.

"Look wha' ye did, mate," Jack rolled his eyes, "Ye not got me wife all upset."

"Wife, ey? Never thought I'd see the day when young Jack Sparrow would settle down," he turned to look her up down again, and finally noticed the bulge where a flat stomach usually would set, "And I can guess tha' it is yer's then?"

"Well, of course it's his!" she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"She's a bit touchy righ' now," Jack smiled and turned back to his friend, "I was hopin' te see Adina before I left. We don' 'ave much time, and I wanted to say goodbye."

"Well, yer 'eadin' the righ' way," he suddenly turned sad and looked over his shoulder, "Ye know... she never came back te see 'er own daughter..."

"I know," Jack nodded and began to walk down the road once again, "I didn't expect her to."

"Ey, Jack?"

Jack turned back toward the built gentleman, "Aye?"

"Jus' 'cause yer a captain doesn't mean tha' ye can't stop by," he smiled, "Angelina or not, yer still one 'o us 'ere."

"I know," he waved and turned to Kat for them to continue down the road.

"Nice to have met you, Mr. Stocksen," Kat nodded her head in her haste and followed quickly after Jack. Daniel shook his head and chuckled to himself as he made his way to the nearest pub.

"How did he know your father?" Kat asked as they were far enough out of earshot.

"He was my father's first mate," Jack smiled.

"You mean... your father..."

"I wasn't the firs' lad in my family to 'ave a ship, luv," Jack smirked and almost caught himself thinking back to his childhood, but mentally shook it off. Kat knew that Jack's father was a big influence in his life. But she didn't know much more than that. She had to remind herself later to ask Jack about his family. She never knew much more than little tid-bits that he nonchalantly threw into their conversations. But they were never really into looking back to the past. Especially not Kat.

After a few more yards down the road they finally stopped at the edge of a lawn. Not to a home... but to a grave yard, "We're 'ere luv."

"But... you said you had to say goodbye..."

"Aye... I do. But the livin' aren' the only ones who can hear us. Adina isn't livin', luv. She died a few weeks ago by my guess," Jack looked through the graves that have been recently dug and covered and finally stopped at the corner of the plot. A small grave stood in the corner, forgotten and the only one missing flowers. Jack knelt to the ground and wiped some of the dirt from the granite.

Kat meanwhile could not avoid the vast number of graves. New graves. And all the occupants were so young. None of them ever had a chance to grow up.

"My god... all the graves. All children," she looked at Jack who was oddly silent and ridged. She took a few steps toward him and read the gravestone over his shoulder.

_Here lies:_

_Adina Dornie_

_12 years young_

_Beloved Daughter_

"Dornie's... daughter..." Kat whispered and slowly wrapped her arms around herself.

"Aye, little Adina," Jack nodded and finally stood to turn away from the grave stone, "'Adn't seen her since she was two."

"What happened when she was two?"

"Her mother fell ill and others speculated that she be mine. With the stories and me past history with her, I couldn' and didn' blame them," Jack looked up at Kat, " No worries, luv. She wasn't mine. Dornie wouldn' let me near her after I took the Pearl. She was someone else's. A daughter of some man she probably never knew... but this 'lil girl 'ad somethin'. She could 'ave done a lot more than her mother will ever achieve. And her mother knew it. Possibly why she didn't take as much care of her. Left her alone 'ere, while she was on the Harbinger. Poor Adina 'ad te fend fer herself. Well, tha' one time I came to take care of her, Dornie, or course, got better and tried to shove me out of the port. Using a pistol and a cutlass if me memory serves me. I jus' got on the Pearl and left before Catterine even knew I was there with her."

"You cared for her, didn't you Jack?"

"She was so young. And her mother didn't even come back to see her buried," Jack shook his head, "That isn't righ'. She deserved at least tha'."

Kat sighed and nodded in agreement. Every child deserves at least to have their mother or guardian present in their last moments of life. She watched Jack brush off the dirt from his pants and jacket and looked to the side where a few wild flowers were growing. he picked two and laid them at the base of the stone. He took a deep breath and looked past Kat to see a figure in the distance.

"It seems the Pearl be ready," he looked at Kat who saw Charlie running down the dirt road trying to find them.

"Aye, Captain," she nodded and held on to his arm as they made their way to the Pearl. They were both surprised on how fast it took to stock the ship, but didn't question it as they boarded.

* * *

'They laughed... how dare they,' Kat fumed in Olivia's room.

It took them less time to reach Barbados once they set sail from Nassau. At least that's what it felt like to Kat. Another week probably sank by without her knowing, but she didn't want to think about the time slipping through her fingers. Thankfully her moodiness had calmed down, but she wasn't too happy with the doctors and nurses who were chuckling at their 'cure'. They just shrugged it off, but that didn't stop Jack from offering the cure to any one who would try it. Which at the time was most of the people there. They had tried everything and if it was the last resort, they would take it. Olivia, of course was the first one to take some, with some confusion and worry from Harriet. Kat reassured her and hoped that it would work. And, fortunately as time passed, Kat could see Olivia respond to different degrees of light and the voices around her.

Harriet was, for lack of a better word, relieved. Her cousin had come back, bigger than what she had remembered, but with a cure in hand. Just as she promised. And just in time. It seemed as if Olivia was on her last days, and the milk and fish had all ready helped immensely. She was hearing their voices and would try to wake herself from her deep sleep. Harriet herself had regained her health and her energy. Her spirit was still a bit crushed, but once James had come back, her face seemed to brighten. He took her on a walk a little after they docked and administered the cure to Olivia. Kat and Jack were left to watch over her. At the moment, Jack was out to find some rum that he had been devoid of for the past few days.

Kat took a deep breath and leaned her head against the wall. She looked over at the bed where Olivia's hands were at her sides and her hair swept away from her face. On the far table Kat could still see the play cutlass that Jesse had brought for Olivia off of the Pearl. She had left it there when she had gotten sick. He came in every once in a while to check on his best friend. He had grown attached to the little girl and couldn't help but visit and hope that she would finally be awake. Kat chuckled to herself and stared up at the ceiling. Olivia sure has found a lifetime friend in that boy.

"Hmm..."

Kat quickly turned her head to the bed where Olivia's head was rocking a little from side to side. Her brows furrowed a little and she turned on her side in her attempt to get away from the morning light streaming through the windows.

Kat knelt next to the bed and watched the little girl yawn and turn back on her back. She started to feel her breathing quicken. Suddenly the door burst open and Jack came walking in with two different bottles in his hands.

"Sorry, luv. I couldn't find any tea fer ye, but I did find some water," he looked up to find Kat with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, "Wha'?"

"Hehe... Uncle Jack is funny..."

Kat turned her head back to Olivia, "Morning sleepy head. We've missed you."


	17. A New Way 'o Life

**A/N:** I had no idea how long I've put this fiction off, and I apologise whole heartedly for it. I'm back and I hope to type out the last three chapters pretty quickly to wrap it up. I may continue to write the third installment, even though the fanficiton is now an AU thanks to the new POTC movie, but what can I do? It was a fantastic movie... but... why?

I can't say more, or I'll spoil it. Anyway, I hope to continue the Jack/ Kat series into a triology, but I have a lot of work ahead of me for it. Besides the fact that I have three other fanfictions to finish besides this one... oh well, this will be my first priority at the moment, since it is my oldest and I'm stuck on POTC at the moment thanks yet agian to the new POTC movie.

And another note, I'm pretty sure that the colonists were now in America around this time. There is a small mention in the chapter and it's not all that big of a to doin the fiction. But, I just wanted to add that in there.

Have a good read and I hope you all will forgive me and review! Love you all!

**Chapter 17:** New Way 'o Life

Kat smiled as she saw Olivia limp around the deck of the Pearl with Emily and Jessie close by. Since she woke up from her coma-like state she has adapted to the splint on her leg and now refuses to use her crutches unless her mother, or even the commodore, makes her use them. She could now hobble fairly well and as far as the doctors or Kat could see she was in no pain or discomfort from the once broken leg. It wasn't completely healed by any means, but it was healed to a point to where she didn't need to worry about the pressure on the leg constantly. Her small, cherub face still showed signs of the sickness that once was rampant in her system, but the doctors were sure that they would fade with time.

Jessie Turner has never left her side since she woke up. He was there to keep her company, a person her own age to talk to and discuss things with. He also helped her around when the leg did happen to act up on her. He was one of those life long friends that would never leave her side when she needed him. Although at times he seemed to be a bit too overprotective of Olivia and was punished for pushing his little sister away.

It had been a month since they made it back to Barbados and cured Olivia and the other children. Luckily they had made it back just in time to ensure the lives of the few children that were infected from Port Royal. Unfortunately more of the Barbados children weren't so lucky and had perished before they could arrive. So many little ones all ready were laid to rest outside of their homes where they once lived, and now only a few could be saved.

Jack and his crew had decided then that they needed to spread the word to the other cities or ports that may had been infected by the disease. They may be a shipload of pirates who loot, maraud and embezzle, but they won't let innocent children die for no reason. And that's where they were heading now. The last port was still a few hours away and Kat just took the time to get off of her feet and watch the children play.

Kat closed her eyes and leaned back against one of the cabin walls and took a deep breath. Her hands laid on her now full stomach and she rubbed it through the fabric of her large shirt. She has since grown out of her shirts and most of her pants, she's had to resort to some of Jack's shirts and buying some more clothes at other ports that they had all ready passed through. It wasn't going to be too long now and both her and Jack knew it. And for the most part they were prepared. Jack had all ready set up a small baby crib in the captain's quarters and a few clothes and wraps that will be needed for the new arrival.

"How are they doing out here?" Harriet asked as she walked around the corner.

"Olivia is fine and isn't running on her leg all that much," Kat said automatically and opened one eye to look at her cousin, "Stop worrying and let go of your skirt."

Harriet dropped the piece of fabric from her hands, "How'd you know?"

"You always do that when your worried or anxious," Kat smiled and closed her eyes again, "I just don't always catch it."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"How are you and the little one on the way doing?" Harriet smiled and patted Kat on the stomach and started to coo.

"Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, Harr-" Kat jumped a little as she felt the baby move inside her a little, "Now you got her all excited."

"Her?" Harriet leaned back from her cousin's stomach and quirked an eyebrow.

"A mother's intuition," Kat smiled and turned just in time to find Olivia hobbling over at a fast speed and almost crashed into her.

"Kat! Guess what?"

"What?" Kat hugged the child the best she could from the side.

"As soon as Uncle Jack gets up, I get to help him steer!" she smiled and began to bounce on the ball of her feet.

"Me too," Jessie piped in, "You're not the only one!"

"But he asked _me_ first!" Olivia stuck her tongue out at the Turner.

"Olivia!" Harriet scorned her, "You keep that tongue in your mouth where it belongs, young lady."

"Yes, mama," Olivia looked down. As Harriet turned to look at the captain's quarters to ask herself why he wasn't up yet, Olivia looked up to find Kat sticking her tongue out at Harriet. She sucked her tongue back in when Harriet turned back and Olivia smiled.

"Is that where the captain is hiding these days?"

"Not hiding," Kat smiled, "Sleeping. I haven't been the best sleeping partner lately."

"I can imagine," Harriet again tapped Kat's stomach and then looked at Olivia to find her face with a confused look upon it, "What's the matter, Olivia?"

"Why has Kitty Kat gotten so big?" she reached her arms out to her sides to elaborate her point.

Kat just began to laugh. She never did explain what was happening to Olivia. She didn't understand that women were supposed to get bigger when they were pregnant. Her mother was still relatively her same weight when the virus stuck her down.

"It's okay, Olivia," Kat said still laughing a bit, "Uncle Jack and I are going to have a baby soon. I have the baby growing inside me. So my tummy needs to get bigger to accommodate the baby."

"Oh! Just like mommy!" she smiled and looked at her mother.

Kat looked at Harriet and found Harriet staring at her for an answer. They had forgotten to tell Olivia that she didn't have a sibling on the way any longer. She still believed that her mother had a baby inside her too and that she was going to be a big sister in the matter of a few months.

Olivia tilted her head to the side and put a gentle hand on her mother's belly, "Why aren't you as big as Kat, mommy?"

Harriet's face fell and she looked out to sea, "Oh… Olivia…"

Kat sighed and sat Olivia down, "It's hard to explain."

"Why?"

Harriet began to feel the tears coming to her eyes and leaned over to hug her daughter. Olivia looked at Kat with a worried face. Harriet soon leaned back and put a hand on each one of her daughter's shoulders.

"Dearest, I'm sorry… the baby that I had…" she looked at Kat who looked as if she didn't know if they should give a child of Olivia's age, not to mention Jessie and Emily who were both standing on the other side of Kat, a lesson in life and death. Although, taking into account everything that has happened around her, and her father, she knows more than any child her age would have normally, "The baby was taken…"

"Taken?"

"Um… yes…" Harriet swallowed her tears and looked at Kat.

Kat nodded and turned Olivia toward her, "I think mommy needs a little more sleep."

"I'm fine," Harriet wiped at her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Did Dornie take the baby?" Jessie asked, touching Kat's other hand.

"Yes, yes she did," Harriet nodded and had to keep her head turned away from her daughter, who she knew was starting to cry.

"But why would they take away my baby…?"

Harriet laughed a little in her response. Olivia never really knew the baby as the new addition to the family. She saw it more of her own baby. She knew it was going to be a sibling and that she was going to be the big sister, but she felt that she all ready was its protector and keeper.

"No reason, luv," Jack rubbed his eyes and stretched as he came on deck. He looked over at Harriet who was having a hard time keeping herself together, "Harriet, why don' ye help with dinner tonigh'. I 'eard from Kat that ye be a marvelous cook when ye wan' to be. And I bet tha' we all need some good food tonigh'."

Harriet nodded her head, kissed Olivia on the cheek and walked toward the galley.

"Will we get my baby back?" Olivia asked and looked up at Jack.

"I'm sorry, luv," Jack shook his head and sat next to Kat, "They took the baby to a place tha' we can't get to 'im."

"Where is that?" Jessie piped up.

Kat took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the baby began to kick again, "Why don't we leave these questions for later? Go play now."

"Yes, ma'am," the two Turner siblings ran off on deck, but Olivia stayed for a moment or two and looked at her two pirate relatives.

"Olivia?" Kat asked.

"My baby's with daddy now, huh?" she asked slowly and dropped her eyes to the floor.

Kat took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, your daddy is now taking care of the baby."

"Oh," Olivia picked her head up and even though her eyes held tears in them she was smiling, "Then I know he's safe. Daddy will take care of him. And I'll see him one day."

Kat smiled and felt the sting of on coming tears, but held them back, "One day… now, go play."

"All right," she wiped at her eyes and began to chase after Jessie.

"Ye goin' be be all righ', luv?" Jack put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine as soon as our child will stop pushing on my bladder," she grumbled.

"We'll be reaching port soon, better get your land legs ready," he nodded and kissed her on the cheek before heading to the wheel.

"Aye, Aye, Captain," she smiled and pushed herself up on her feet and got the children to come inside while she changed.

* * *

After an early dinner from Harriet, some of the other crew mates and soldiers stepped onto dry land. Olivia walked - or rather limped- between her mother and the commodore off of the ship. She grabbed her mother's hand and smiled wide at her. Harriet smiled back and tickled her a little in the side. After walking a few feet and Harriet had finally stopped tickling her, Olivia turned her head to the commodore and tilted her head to the side. He glanced down at her with a question on his face. Olivia just smirked at him and grabbed his hand from behind his back and squeezed.

"I don't bite," she giggled and limped beside him.

He chuckled a little and looked at Harriet who had a warm smile on her face, "I… I have something to ask you later, Harriet."

Harriet noticed the seriousness in his voice and just nodded as Olivia pulled on both of their hands to jump a little.

Kat was leaning a bit on Jack as they walked through the port town. The Turners were behind them with Emily asleep on Will's shoulder and Jessie was skipping behind his mother. Jack finally stopped and put Kat down into a chair just on the outside of the hospice, "I'll be righ' back, luv."

"I'll be waiting for the laughing to begin," Kat sighed, "Stupid blighters. Doctors think that they know everything."

"Kat!" Harriet scorned from her side as she placed her hands over Olivia's ears and nodded at Jessie and Emily, "The children are present."

"It's not like they haven't heard it from Jack before," Kat rolled her eyes and leaned back in the small chair letting out a huge breath.

"Now, don' get me into this, luv," Jack waved his finger at her and walked in the hospice with Norrington and a few soldiers and Gibbs at his side.

"That still amazes me," Kat said more to herself than anyone else.

"What's that?" Harriet asked as she placed Olivia on her lap, bumping her up and down on one knee.

"Jack and Gibbs walking into any building surrounded by soldiers and a commodore and not being under arrest or in shackles," Kat laughed lightly to herself and rubbed her stomach again, "You're father…"

"If you keep doing that, you're going to wear the cloth out on your shirt," Harriet smiled, "Or should I say Jack's shirt?"

"Oh, let him worry about that. It makes her calm down," she smiled and patted the top of it.

"Her who?" Jack came back out of the hospice and looked down at Kat.

"Nothing," Kat smiled back, "How'd they take it?"

"They didn'," Jack shook his head, "No one's 'ere."

"They've moved on," Norrington continued, "Probably on to one of the other ports. They must have heard the news of the other ports and their 'luck' in cures, and decided to leave all this behind."

"Abandoned, eh?" Jack asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes," Norrington lifted an eyebrow trying to figure out why the pirate was smiling, "…why?"

"So it wouldn' really hurt if we do some friendly lootin'?" Jack rubbed his hands together and got some chuckles from some of the crew, a sigh from Will and a Norrington with what looked like an oncoming head ache.

"I guess it's possible…" Norrington took a deep breath, "Have at it, Sparrow. I doubt you'll ever get another chance to do it with my knowledge."

"Aye," he smiled, "Without me tellin' ye, ye mean?"

"Right," Norrington grumbled and turned to walk toward the Pearl, "Might as well unload our supplies, we can use this as a base until we find something to stop Dornie and the Harbinger crew."

"Cap'n?" Gibbs looked at Jack.

Jack smirked and nodded.

"Ahoy, mates! Free to loot 'ter yer heart's content!" Gibbs shouted toward the Pearl. After only a few seconds the rest of the crew rushed off the ship and toward the town. Jack helped Kat up and began to chuckle.

"We better get to a building or there won' be anythin' left even for the captain," Jack walked toward the biggest building in the area with Kat by his side, "It's so good to see the crew in high spirits, don' ye agree?"

"After all that traveling and no looting or shiny things, I was expecting a mutiny," Kat smiled at the frown from Jack.

"Nothin' to joke about," he muttered and opened the door, "Must be the governor's home. Well, it knows how te pick an owner."

"You're the one who picked a house," Kat walked over to a nice sized table and sat in one of the chairs, "And I doubt that a small port like this has anything close to a governor, and I don't think they were very friendly with England."

"Wha' makes ye think tha'?" Jack looked at Kat who pointed to a wall with a shredded and burnt England flag with a few scribbles of 'death to the crown', "Ye think their in lead with the- wha' they callin' themselves?"

"American Colonists?" Kat asked.

"Tha' be them," he pointed a finger, "Ye think they wan' te separate?"

"More than likely, but I don't really need to know," Kat grabbed the edge of the destroyed flag and ripped it from the wall to reveal a small door with a huge lock.

"Way te find some loot, luv," Jack kissed her on the cheek before walking to the door and looked into the keyhole.

Kat laughed to herself as Jack fiddled with the lock and popped it open, "Apparently not all that complicated."

"They've ne'er come across Captain Jack Sparrow," he smirked and moved his hands over the gold and jewels left behind by the former owners. Kat grew silent and looked out the side window at the passing crewmembers running to the different homes and then turned to look at the sea. Jack looked at Kat and then took a shilling from the mini treasure, "I 'ave a shillin' fer yer though's."

"Just thinking… What do you think Dornie's up to at the moment?" Kat asked and turned back to Jack, "She doesn't seem like one to just give up. She's obsessed with killing you, Jack. Where could she have gone?"

"Figurin' out which port to find us at will be her first priority," he looked into the next room after he locked the gold back up. He took a deep sigh and shook his head, "Wha' a waste…"

"What's that?" Kat pushed off the chair and wobbled up next to Jack.

"To think some one left all tha' te waste," Jack's eyes swept over the small piles of rum bottles at the corners of the room. Full rum bottles. He turned to look down at Kat, "This buildin' be a good location, don' ye think? It's big… right off shore… good view of the Pearl, not far away either… if ye or I get home sick, it be a small walk…"

"I'm not going to argue with you about rum," she put up a hand and Jack went into the room to stake his claim on the good batch, "How long do you think it will take them to find us?"

"Who?" Jack called from the room, checking the labels for the best brands.

"Harbinger? Dornie?" Kat leaned to one side unsteadily as she dodged a small bottle of wine Jack threw off to the side. She turned back to the table and sat back down in the comfortable chair.

"Won't be for a while yet," he grabbed an armful of the same brand of rum and carried them to the table where Kat had repositioned herself after the rum discovery, "Don' worry, I bet she'd be thinkin' fer a little before settin' foot on diseased land. Then add a few weeks to find the right port… By then we should 'ave a plan."

"Should is not a sure thing," Kat reminded him and looked in a small box at the side of the table that held a few pounds and a nice looking locket.

"We'll be fine," Jack walked back into the other room to grab a few more bottles, walked back to put them on the table and then patted Kat on the stomach, "We all be fine. At least for the moment at 'and."

She smiled and patted his hand, "I bet she was furious when she found us missing. I would have loved to see her face."

"I bet ye would," he laughed and looked out window toward the Pearl to see instead Harriet coming to the door, "It doesn't take yer cousin long te find us."

"She has a sense for me, I guess," Kat shrugged.

Jack opened the door before Harriet even had the opportunity to knock, "'Ello Harriet, find a little house te call yer own yet? They be goin' fast by the look 'o it."

"Yes, but that is not why I wanted to stop by," she smiled and looked at Kat, "I wanted to invite you two to my wedding."

"Harriet!" Kat yelled and jumped from her chair and hugged her cousin the best she could with her bulging gut, "So when is the date? How did the commodore do it? What does Olivia think? Oh- am I the maid of honor?"

"Kat… one question at a time," Harriet chuckled in her cousin's arms.

"I 'ave one," Jack asked as he flourished his hand in the air, "Could ye repeat tha'?"


End file.
